5 civilians killed, injured in Baghdad

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: A civilian was killed and four more were wounded in a bomb explosion in eastern Baghdad on Thursday, the second of its kind today, a police source said. “An explosive device, planted by unknown gunmen near al-Muthafar square in Sadr city in eastern Baghdad, exploded, killing a civilian and injuring four,” the source told IraqiNews.com. “Ambulances rushed the wounded to nearby hospitals, while security forces cordoned off the area and prevented civilians from entering it,” he added. A medical source had said earlier a Sadrist lawmaker was seriously injured on Thursday in a bomb explosion in eastern Baghdad. Baghdad is the capital of Iraq and Baghdad province. With a municipal population estimated at 7,000,000, it is the largest city in Iraq. It is the second largest city in the Arab world (after Cairo) and the second largest city in southwest Asia (after Tehran). Located on the Tigris River, the city dates back to at least the 8th century, and probably to pre-Islamic times. Once the center of Dar al-Islam (the abode of Islam), Baghdad has been a center of violent conflict since 2003 because of the ongoing Iraq war. Baghdad’s population is a mix of Sunnis and Shiites. It is mainly divided into two sides: the west (al-Karkh) and the east (al-Rasafa). SH (S) 1