Series of bombings in Baghdad commercial areas kill 22March 27, 2014 - 23:17 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - A series of bombings targeting commercial areas of Baghdad killed 22 people as residents were heading out on the town Thursday, March 27 evening in a new spasm of violence to strike the Iraqi capital, Iraqi officials said, according to the Associated Press. The attacks happened within minutes of each other, suggesting a coordinated assault favored by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, an al Qaida-inspired group that is behind much of the bloodshed in Iraq. The evening's first attack was also the deadliest. A car bomb exploded after sunset in a commercial street in the Sunni-dominated northern neighborhood of Azamiyah, killing 12 people and wounding 28. Thursday night is a popular time for Iraqis to go out, as the local weekend begins the following day. Minutes later, another bomb exploded near a market in the same neighborhood, killing seven and wounding 27. Those blasts were followed by an explosion in a shopping street in the capital's Aamiriyah district, killing three people and wounding 15 others. Medics confirmed the casualties for all attacks. All officials spoke anonymously because they were not authorized to talk to the media, according to the AP. The blasts struck little more than a month before Iraqis head to the polls in parliamentary elections scheduled for April 30, the country's first since U.S. troops left in late 2011. No group immediately claimed responsibility, but the attacks bore the hallmarks of ISIL. The extremist group frequently uses car bombs and suicide attacks to target public areas in their bid to undermine confidence in the government. Violence has escalated in Iraq over the past year. Last year, the country saw its highest death toll since the worst of the country's sectarian bloodletting began to subside in 2007, according to United Nations figures. Related links: Top stories Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev arrived in Moscow on April 22 to hold talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". Partner news | Police try to impede Armenian Church head’s access to war memorial Police tried to stop the supreme head of the Armenian Apostolic Church, Catholicos Karekin II, from visiting a war memorial. Greece says ready to help as Armenia fights flooding consequences Greece is ready to assist Armenia in combatting the consequences of deadly floods in the country’s north. “He will leave”: Protest leader no longer demands meeting with Pashinyan Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan no longer demands a meeting with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. Lemkin Institute petition seeks release of Armenians in Azerbaijan The Lemkin Institute is deeply concerned about the continued illegal detention of political prisoners from Karabakh in Azerbaijan. |