Car bombing kills 9, wounds 35 in Baghdad

A car bomb parked in the Ilam district of southern Baghdad blew up on Friday (February 10) killing nine people and wounding 35, secuity sources said.

The bomb exploded as people were shopping in the area, leaving the surrounding buildings and stores severely damaged.

“An explosion took place while we were shopping here causing damage and many deaths. We immediately left the area and roads were blocked by police,” said a witness, Haider Abu Karar.

Earlier on Friday a man blew himself up inside the Sayidati al-Jamila (“My Fair Lady”) restaurant at lunchtime in eastern Mosul, killing at least four people and wounding 15, medial and security sources said.

Another suicide car-bomb killed a soldier and wounded four others in the eastern side of the city, which U.S.-backed Iraqi forces took from Islamic State last month.

The militant group, which still controls significant parts of Iraq and Syria, claimed the attacks in online statements.

The offensive to dislodge Islamic State from Mosul, the largest city in northern Iraq, began in October but paused last month after Iraqi forces took all the districts lying east of the Tigris river that bisects the city.