Car bombings kill 14 in Iraqi capital

By Ibrahim Salih

BAGHDAD (AA) – At least 14 people were killed in two separate car bombings in Iraqi capital Baghdad early Tuesday, according to security officials.

A car bomb exploded in the densely populated Karada district in central Baghdad, killing 11 people and injuring scores, a security official said on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on speaking to media.

The bombing has wreaked havoc in the area, he said.

Three people were also killed in a second car bombing outside a government building in central Baghdad, police officer Hatem al-Jaberi said.

Though no group has yet claimed responsibility for the attacks, Iraqi officials typically blame the violence on the Daesh terrorist group, which seized vast swathes of territory in northern and western Iraq in 2014.

Iraqi forces, backed by air cover from a U.S.-led coalition, are engaged in a widespread offensive to dislodge Daesh from Mosul, the terrorist group’s last stronghold in Iraq.