Iraq Bombings: More Than 40 Killed In Attacks

Security officials in Iraq say two bombings have torn through different neighborhoods in the country’s eastern Diyala province, killing at least 42 people.

About 40 are reported dead after the attack on civilians in a marketplace in Baquba, in eastern Iraq.

Another suicide bomber drove his explosives-laden vehicle past a checkpoint before blowing himself up in Kanaan district, killing at least 10 people and wounding the same number, a police captain said.

Last month, a vehicle bomb attack at a popular market south of Baquba killed more than 100 people and injured 140 others.

An improvised explosive device also went off in a neighbourhood between Baquba and Huwaydir, killing three and wounding four others, the same source said.

The more severe of Monday’s two attacks happened near the provincial capital, Baquba, located 35 miles (60km) north east of Baghdad.

The government has vowed to root out the culprits and provide better security in Diyala.

Islamic State, which controls large parts of northern and western Iraq, claimed responsibility for the attack in the mixed Sunni-Shi’ite Muslim province and said the target was “rejectionists”, as the group refers to Shi’ites. The mostly Shia victims were gathered to mark the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.

The jihadists, who consider Shiites heretics, no longer have fixed positions in the province, but have reverted to their old tactics of planting auto bombs and carrying out suicide operations or hit-and-run attacks.