Suicide blast kills and injures dozens in northern Baghdad

Suicide blast kills and injures dozens in northern Baghdad
A suicide bomb attack has killed at least 11 people and injured 20 others in the town of Dujail, northern Baghdad on Saturday.
2 min read
21 May, 2016
A deadly wave of attacks has hit the Iraqi capital killing scores [AFP]

A suicide bomb blast killed at least 11 people and wounded 20 others in a northern Baghdad town on Saturday.

A motorist detonated his suicide vest in a crowded market in Shia-majority the town of Dujail, located 60 kilometres [37 miles] north of Baghdad, a security source told The New Arab.

No one has claimed responsibility for the attack, but Islamic State [IS] group have carried out similar attacks in Baghdad, killing over 100 people in the past seven days.

On Tuesday, a deadly wave of attacks hit the Iraqi capital killing at least 48 people and wounding 85 others.

Saturday's blast comes after Iraq's ministry of interior confirmed 13 Islamic State [IS] militants operating on the outskirts of the Iraqi capital were killed in airstrikes.

"Iraqi air force units carried out a series of air raids destroying an IS headquarter," the ministry said in a statement.

At least nine IS suicide bombers and four other militants were killed in the airstrikes.

Four other militants were wounded and over 20 explosive belts were destroyed, the statement added.

The attacks come at a time of turmoil and deadlock in Iraq's government and parliament, after thousands of protesters stormed the Green Zone on Friday.

A months-old political crisis in Iraq has led to repeated mass demonstrations and has hampered the functioning of the government at a time when the country is battling the IS group on several fronts.