Bomb blast injures three soldiers, western Baghdad
Iraqi Special Operations Forces (ISOF) react after a car bomb exploded during an operation to clear the al-Andalus district of Islamic State militants, in Mosul, Iraq. REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed
“A bomb placed on the side of the road in Akarkouf region, in Abu Ghraib, west of Baghdad, exploded targeting the military patrol,” the source told Al-Ghad Press.
“Only three soldiers were injured,” he added.
Earlier on Tuesday, a security source said three victims were killed due to a blast that occurred near a market in al-Zidan region, western Baghdad.
Baghdad is the second most affected province with 84 deaths and 246 injuries, according to the organization’s monthly casualty count, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI) said last month. Violence in the country left 1115 casualties, excluding security members, during March.
While several blasts are not followed by a claim of responsibility, Islamic State militants said they had been behind some bloody explosions and attacks that hit the capital in the past months, leaving casualties among civilians and security troops.
IS is believed to have been escalating attacks outside the city of Mosul, where the group has been losing ground and personnel since October, in order to relieve pressure by government forces on that front and to divert attention from group losses.