UPDATED: Three civilians killed, four wounded in bomb blast south of Baghdad

Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) Three civilians were killed and four others were wounded Monday when bombs exploded in southern Baghdad, police sources said.

“An explosive device placed on the side of a road near a popular market in al-Madaen south of Baghdad exploded today, killing a civilian and wounding four others,” Alsumaria News quoted police sources saying.

Another source said a man and his wife were also killed when a bomb fitted beneath their vehicle exploded while they were moving at Jisr Diyala area, also south of the capital.

Violence surged in Iraq with the emergence of Islamic State militants who took over large areas of the country in 2014. Baghdad has been witnessing almost daily bombings targeting civilians and security personnel.

Nobody has claimed responsibility yet for the bombing, but IS militants have said they had been responsible for several bloody explosions and attacks that hit the capital in the past months, bringing the governorate municipal and security officials under critics’ fire.

The United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI) said violence in the country left nearly 382 dead, including security members, and 908 injured during January. Baghdad was the most affected province with 128 deaths and 444 injuries, according to the organization.

Observers believe Islamic State have begun to escalate attacks outside the city of Mosul, where the group has been losing ground and personnel since October, so as to relieve pressure by government forces on that front and to divert attention from group losses.