Twin bombings kill 3 in Iraqi capital: Police source

By Ibrahim Salih

BAGHDAD

At least three people were killed Thursday in two separate bomb attacks in Iraqi capital Baghdad, according to a local security source.

"One person was killed and another eight injured when a bomb went off Thursday morning near a crowded market in northern Baghdad’s Sabaa al-Bour district," Hasan al-Nofal, a local police officer told Anadolu Agency.

Al-Nofal added that two other people had been killed -- and another five injured -- when a second bomb went off in a commercial area of the capital’s southwestern in Al-Forat district.

While there was no claim of responsibility, Baghdad in recent months has witnessed similar attacks in civilian areas on an almost daily basis -- including car bombs and suicide bombings -- for which the authorities generally blame the Daesh terrorist group.

Iraq’s security situation has deteriorated rapidly since mid-2014, when Daesh captured the northern city of Mosul along with vast swathes of territory in the country’s northern and western regions.

In recent months, the Iraqi army -- backed by U.S.-led coalition airstrikes and local allies on the ground -- has since managed to retake much of the territory lost earlier to Daesh.

Nevertheless, the terrorist group remains in firm control of several parts of the country, including Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city.