Two civilians wounded in bomb blast west of Baghdad

Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) Two civilians were wounded in a bomb blast west of Baghdad, a security source told SNG website on Thursday.

“A roadside bomb went off in Abu Ghraib city in western Baghdad, leaving two civilians injured,” the source said.

“A security force sealed off the blast site, while ambulances carried the wounded to a nearby hospital,” the source added.

Earlier in the day, unidentified gunmen opened fire against a security checkpoint of Tribal Mobilization Forces in al-Sayyed Abdullah region, south of Baghdad. One personnel was killed, while two others were wounded.

Also, a bomb, placed near stores in al-Taji region, north of Baghdad, went off, leaving three persons wounded.

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.

The surge in violence between armed groups and government forces has resulted in over 3 million internally displaced persons across Iraq and left more than 11 million in need of humanitarian assistance, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

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.

Iraq declared the collapse of Islamic State’s territorial influence in Iraq earlier this month with the recapture of Rawa, a city on Anbar’s western borders with Syria, which was the group’s last bastion in Iraq.