Western Baghdad blast kills 2, wounds 10

Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) Two people were killed and ten others were wounded when a booby-trapped car exploded west of Baghdad, a security source said.

The car was parked near shops at al-Washash area, the source said in a press statement.

No one claimed responsibility for the explosion.

Violence surged across Iraq as Islamic State extremists captured several Iraqi cities in 2014, and continues even as the group is sustaining defeats during a current wide-scale campaign by Iraqi forces and tribal militias.

The United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI) said early December that violence during November claimed the lives of 926 civilians and wounded 930 people.

Observers believe ISIS have begun to target several areas across Iraq to divert security focus on Mosul, where the group fights to defend its last bastion in Iraq under the brunt of continuous advancements by Iraqi government and popular troops.