5 people killed in Baghdad blasts

By Ibrahim Salih

BAGHDAD (AA) - At least five people were killed and 18 others injured in three separate bomb attacks around Baghdad late Saturday, according to a security source.

Two civilians were killed when an explosive device went off in the northern at-Taymiyyah district, police lieutenant Hatem al-Jabri told Anadolu Agency. Seven others were injured in the blast.

He said two other civilians were killed and four injured when a bomb planted on a bus exploded near at al-Haswa district, west of Baghdad. And in eastern Baghdad's Al-Obeidi district, another person was killed and seven others were injured by an explosive device, said the officer.

No group has yet claimed responsibility for the explosions but authorities have blamed similar attacks on Daesh.

Iraq’s security has markedly deteriorated since mid-2014 when Daesh captured the northern city of Mosul -- now the target of a massive army offensive -- and overran vast swathes of territory in the country’s north and west.