Map locates car bombs in Baghdad neighborhoods; 1c x 3 inches; 46.5 mm x 76 mm;
Republished May 17, 2016 - 6:19 AM
Original Publication Date May 17, 2016 - 2:55 AM
BAGHDAD - The latest on a wave of militants attacks in Iraq as government forces battle the Islamic State group (all times local):
4:20 p.m.
Iraqi officials have raised the death toll from the day's bombings of Shiite neighbourhoods in Baghdad to 69 killed. Scores have also been wounded in the wave of attacks.
The new, higher death toll comes after a bombing in the northeastern Baghdad neighbourhood of Habibiyah killed nine people and wounded 18 early on Tuesday afternoon. Police officials say the attack targeted a restaurant.
In the largest attack of the day, a car bomb struck a crowded market in Baghdad's northeastern Shaab neighbourhood, killing 34 people there and wounded 75. Elsewhere in the Iraqi capital, at least 26 were killed.
So far, the Islamic State group has claimed responsibility only for the deadliest of the attacks, the one in the Shaab neighbourhood.
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3 p.m.
The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for a back-to-back twin bombing earlier in the day at an outdoor market in a Shiite-dominated neighbourhood of Baghdad that left at least 28 dead.
The attack in the northern Shaab neighbourhood was the deadliest of three assaults that hit the Iraqi capital on Tuesday, killing at least 50 people in all.
Police say the Shaab attack started with a roadside bomb explosion outside the concrete blast walls surrounding the open-air market, followed by a suicide bomber who blew himself up as people gathered to help the victims of the first explosion. At least 65 others were wounded.
In an online statement, the Islamic State group says the attack was carried out by an Iraqi and targeted members of Shiite militias. The Associated Press could not verify the authenticity of the statement but it was posted on a militant website commonly used by extremists.
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2:50 p.m.
Iraqi officials say a suicide car bombing has hit a crowded market in Baghdad's predominantly Shiite neighbourhood of Sadr City area, killing 14 people there.
It's the third deadly bombing to strike Shiite areas of the Iraqi capital on Tuesday. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, which also wounded 30 people.
The officials spoke on condition to anonymity as they were not authorized to release the information to the media.
A wave of bombings in and around Baghdad over the past week has killed almost 200 people.
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2: 10 p.m.
Iraqi officials have raised the death toll from a car bombing earlier in the day at an outdoor market in a Shiite-dominated neighbourhood of Baghdad to at least 28 killed.
A police officer says the explosion Tuesday in the northeastern Shaab neighbourhood also wounded up to 65 people. The attack was carried out with an explosives-laden car that was parked near the market. The officer spoke on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to talk to reporters.
No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.
—Sinan Salaheddin in Baghdad.
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1:26 p.m.
Iraqi officials say a second car bombing in Baghdad has struck an outdoor market in the city's south, killing at least five people there.
The explosion hit a fruit-and-vegetable market in the Shiite-dominated neighbourhood of Dora. The bombing followed the attack on an open-air market in the capital's northeastern Shaab neighbourhood earlier on Tuesday that killed at least 16 people and wounded 45.
The police say the Dora explosion also wounded 15 people.
No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attacks, which bore the hallmarks of the extremist Islamic State group that has been behind recent deadly attacks in the Iraqi capital and beyond.
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12:50 p.m.
Iraqi officials say a car bomb at an outdoor market in a Shiite-dominated Baghdad neighbourhood has killed at least 13 people.
A police officer says initial reports show Tuesday's attack in the northeastern Shaab neighbourhood was carried out with an explosives-laden car that was parked near the market. He says the explosion also wounded up to 40 people.
A medical official confirmed the casualty figures. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity as they are not authorized to talk to reporters.
No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, which bore the hallmarks of the extremist Islamic State group that has been behind recent deadly attacks in the Iraqi capital and beyond.
—Sinan Salaheddin in Baghdad
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11 a.m.
Iraq's Oil Ministry has resumed work at a natural gas plant north of Baghdad, two days after a co-ordinated dawn assault by Islamic State militants left at least 14 dead.
Deputy Minister Hamid Younis says work at the plant's three production lines returned "to normal levels" on Tuesday in Taji. The town is about 20 kilometres (12 miles) north of Baghdad.
Younis says the plant was back to full capacity of producing 30,000 cooking gas cylinders a day. He says Sunday's attack only damaged two gas storages and a few pipelines.
In the attack, a suicide car bomber hit the facility's main gate, followed by other suicide bombers and militants who broke into the plant and clashed with security forces.
IS-claimed attacks have killed more than 140 since last week.
News from © The Associated Press, 2016