Car bombing in Iraqi capital kills at least 15 civilians

At least 24 Iraqis, including eight security personnel, were killed in two separate bombings in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad on Thursday, local health and security officials said.

The Islamic State claimed responsibility for both attacks, The Associated Press reported.

With Iraqi government forces retaking the nearby Anbar province cities of Ramadi and Hit in the past seven months, the Sunni Muslim radical group has stepped up its attacks in Baghdad, killing almost 200 people in and near the city during one week alone in May. At least 28 people were wounded.

The group was responsible for four bombings in Baghdad on May 11, which killed at least 90 people. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to brief the press.

IS were quick to claim responsibility, although the information could not be independently verified. They stated that the first attack was aimed at Shiite militia members while the second attack was targeting the Iraqi army.

Baghdad has seen near-daily attacks in recent weeks by the Sunni militant group. “The Daesh terrorists should not be allowed to succeed”, he added, using the Arabic language acronym for Isis.

The deadly attacks in and around the capital are seen as an attempt by the jihadis to distract Iraqi security forces from the fighting on the front lines – now in Fallujah.

Attacks in the Iraqi capital have not subsided as many expected, despite the Iraqi offensive against Islamic State militants in Fallujah, a military spokesman in Baghdad said Wednesday.

The city 50 kilometres (30 miles) west of Baghdad is one of the militant organisation’s most emblematic bastions and one of only two major urban hubs it still controls in Iraq.