Civilian killed, 25 wounded in twin blasts in Iraq's capital: source

Source: Xinhua| 2019-07-16 05:05:53|Editor: yan
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BAGHDAD, July 15 (Xinhua) -- A civilian was killed and 25 others wounded on Monday in two explosions at a Shiite mosque in the southwest of Iraq's capital Baghdad, an interior ministry source said.

The attack occurred at the sunset in al-Maalif district when a bomb went off at the mosque and a nearby funerary tent, the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

A minute later, a suicide bomber blew up his explosive belt and created the second blast, the source said.

The Iraqi security forces cordoned off the scene and started investigating the incident, while several ambulances and civilian cars evacuated the killed and wounded to nearby hospitals and medical centers, he added.

No group has so far claimed responsibility for the attack, but the self-styled Islamic State (IS) militant group was in many cases responsible for this pattern of attacks targeting security forces and areas where crowds of people gather, including markets, cafes and mosques across Iraq.

The security situation in Iraq dramatically improved after Iraqi security forces fully defeated the extremist IS in 2017.

IS remnants, however, have since merged into urban areas or resorted to deserts and rugged regions, carrying out guerilla attacks against security forces and civilians despite military operations from time to time to hunt them down.

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