Many killed in blasts near Baghdad mall

At least 11 people were killed and 29 others wounded in two vehicle bombs at a busy mall in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, a police source said on Saturday local time.

Iraqi security officials say at least one of the explosions that struck just before midnight Friday was caused by a suicide bomber.

Reports state that more than 40 people were wounded in the attack at the Nakheel Mall.

Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the attacks. One bomb detonated at the front of the mall, and the other exploded in the parking lot. It also houses one of the city’s most popular cinemas.

The shops were open during the night due to the weekend ahead of next week’s Eid al-Adha feast. An interior ministry spokesman said that none of the victims had been inside the mall but outside in the busy neighborhood surrounding it.

A auto bomb near a hospital in central Baghdad killed nine people on Monday, and another one down the road in July killed 324, one of the deadliest such attacks since the US -led invasion toppled Saddam Hussein 13 years ago.

Karrada was still reeling from a July suicide truck bomb explosion that killed more than 300 people, the deadliest single bombing ever to hit the Iraqi capital.

Daesh has suffered defeats across Iraq and Syria in recent months, leading some observers to predict a rise in bombings on soft civilian targets as its military strength is eroded.