Attacks in Iraq kill 17 People

Attacks in Iraq kill 17 People

BAGHDAD (AP) — A series of attacks across Iraq on Friday killed 17 people, including four Shiite militiamen and a Sunni tribal chief, officials said.

Police officials said the deadliest attack happened when a car bomb went off on a commercial street in Baghdad’s mainly Shiite Zafaraniyah district, killing seven people and wounding 15 others. Several shops were damaged.

Earlier, a roadside bomb targeted a Shiite militiamen convoy, killing four fighters and wounding seven in the area of Iskandariyah, just south of Baghdad.

Shiite militiamen have joined with Iraq’s armed forces in their battle against the extremist Islamic State group, which has seized large swaths of land in the country’ north and west.

Another bomb went off near an outdoor market in Baghdad’s Shiite district of Obeidi, killing three shoppers and wounding 12, police said.

In northern Iraq, residents said Islamic State fighters killed Maiser al-Waqaa, a Sunni tribal chief, along with two brothers in the village of al-Houd, just south of Mosul.

They said al-Waqaa ran in parliamentary elections earlier this year but failed to win a seat.

Sunni militants captured Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city, and overran much of northern Iraq in June. The Islamic State group has carved out a self-styled caliphate straddling the Iraqi-Syrian border.

Medical officials confirmed the casualties from all attacks. All officials spoke of condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to speak to the media.

___

Associated Press writer Murtada Faraj contributed to this report.

COMMENTS

Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.