Eight people killed, injured in northern Baghdad bomb blast
Iraqi security forces and civilians gather at the scene of a deadly suicide car bomb attack in Baghdad. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)
Baghdad (Iraqinews.com) – Eight people were killed and injured in a bomb blast that rocked a northern Baghdad district on Saturday night, a security source was quoted as saying.
The Kuwaiti al-Watan newspaper quoted the source saying, “A roadside bomb went off in Dujail district, 70 km north of Baghdad, leaving two persons dead and six others injured.”
“Security forces cordoned off the blast site and prevented passers-by from approaching in anticipation of any other bomb attack,” the source said.
Despite the presence of Islamic State remnants in nearby areas, it is rare for the Shia-dominated Dujail district to witness bomb blasts or violent acts as it is considered one of the calmest towns in Iraq.
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. Though most of the daily bombings go without a claim of responsibility, Islamic State has declared it had been behind many.
A total of 115 Iraqi civilians, excluding policemen, were killed and another 250 injured in acts of terrorism, violence and armed conflict in Iraq in January 2018, according to casualty figures recorded by the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI).