5 die, including 3 Shia militiamen, in Baghdad violence

By Ibrahim Salih

BAGHDAD (AA) - At least five people were killed, including three Shia militiamen, in separate bombings that rocked the Iraqi capital on Thursday, according to a local police source.

One bomb targeted members of the Hashd al-Shaabi militia in the city’s northern Al-Tarmiya district, killing three of them and injuring six others, Yasser al-Mustafa, a Baghdad police officer, told Anadolu Agency.

According to al-Mustafa, security forces have since cordoned off the area and begun searching for the perpetrators.

The Hashd al-Shaabi is an umbrella group of pro-government Shia militias established with the aim of fighting the Daesh terrorist group, which overran much of the country in mid-2014.

The Hashd al-Shaabi has been accused in the past of committing abuses against Sunni civilians in areas that it has captured from Daesh.

On the same day, a second bomb went off in Baghdad's western Al-Tubaji neighborhood, killing two people and injuring nine others, al-Mustafa said.

Al-Mustafa also reported that police had discovered two unidentified bodies -- riddled with gunshot wounds -- in an area northeast of Baghdad.

While there was no claim of responsibility for Thursday’s violence, the Iraqi capital has in recent months seen bloody attacks -- which often target civilians -- on an almost daily basis.

The Iraqi authorities blame the violence on Daesh, which still enjoys a significant presence in war-torn Iraq despite having suffered a string of recent military defeats.

Iraq’s security situation has deteriorated markedly since mid-2014, when Daesh captured Mosul -- the country’s second largest city -- along with vast swathes of territory in the country’s north and west.