Five persons wounded in southern Baghdad bomb blast
A man looks at the site where a car packed with explosives blew up yesterday, in Hayy al-Shurta, a Shi’ite district in Baghdad, Iraq February 17, 2017. REUTERS/Ali al-Mashhadani – RTSZ32H
“The blast took place near stores in al-Latifiya region, south of Baghdad,” the source told Baghdad Today.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, the source said, “security troops cordoned off the blast spot, while ambulances transferred the wounded to nearest hospital.”
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.
A monthly count by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI), which excludes security members deaths, said 196 civilians were killed, while 381 others were wounded due to violence and armed conflicts during the month of September. The fatalities included 10 foreign nationals. Baghdad was the most affected province with 37 deaths and 157 injuries. Dhi Qar province came in the second place with 82 killed and 93 injured. Anbar came in the third place with 20 killed and 46 injured.
The Iraqi capital has seen almost daily bombings and armed attacks against security members, paramilitary troops and civilians since the Iraqi government launched a wide-scale campaign to retake Islamic State-occupied areas in 2016.