Suicide bombing kills 8 in Iraqi capital

By Ali Jawwad

BAGHDAD (AA) – A suicide bombing killed eight people and injured dozens in the Iraqi capital Baghdad on Sunday, according to police and medical sources.

A bomber detonated his explosive vest near a school in Al-Iskan district in western Baghdad, police officer Yasser al-Mostafa told Anadolu Agency.

Health official Ihsan Radi said eight people, mostly civilians, were killed and 20 others injured in the attack.

“Some of the injured are in a critical condition,” he said.

There was no claim of responsibility for the bombing, though Iraqi authorities often point the finger at the Daesh terrorist group, which controls some territory in northern and western Iraq since 2014.

In recent months, the Iraqi army -- backed by coalition airstrikes and local allies on the ground -- has managed to retake much territory from Daesh.

Iraqi forces this week captured the Shirqat district in northern Iraq from Daesh militants ahead of an anticipated offensive to retake Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city which Iraqi officials have vowed to recapture by year’s end.