Five civilians killed, injured in IED blast western Baghdad
An explosion in Baghdad.
“A bomb exploded near stores at al-Hamamiyat- al-Taji region, north of Baghdad, leaving a civilian killed and four others wounded,” a source told Baghdad Today website on Sunday.
On Saturday, a university professor and a soldier were killed, while another one was wounded in two IED blasts that took place in western Baghdad.
Violence in the country has surged further with the emergence of Islamic State Sunni extremist militants who proclaimed an “Islamic Caliphate” in Iraq and Syria in 2014.
Security members, paramilitary groups and civilians are targeted by bombings and armed attacks since the Iraqi government launched a wide-scale campaign to retake IS-occupied areas in 2016.
More than 500 Iraqis were killed and injured during July due to violence and armed conflicts, according to a monthly count by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI).
While most of of the explosions attacks went without a claim of responsibility, Islamic State has claimed several incidents.
Security observers believe that even after IS’s main havens across Iraqi provinces are conquered, the group may still constitute a security threat through sleeper cells and lone wolf attacks.