Three bomb explosions martyr 14 in, around Iraqi capital

At least 14 people, including several pilgrims, have been martyred and dozens more injured in three bomb explosions in and around the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, security and medical sources say.

According to the reports, Iraqi officials said on Monday that the largest bomb attack martyred 11 and wounded 30 others in the Saydiya district of southern Baghdad. The blast took place when an explosives-rigged vehicle went off.

Several of the casualties were pilgrims passing through the area on their way to Baghdad’s northern neighborhood of Kadhimiyah to commemorate the martyrdom anniversary of Prophet Mohammad's (blessings of God upon him and his progeny) seventh Infallible successor Imam Musa ibn Jafar al-Kazim (AS).

Separately, explosives planted on the ground in Tarmiyah, located 25 km north of Baghdad, killed two people and wounded six others.

In the third blast, a roadside bomb in al-Khalisa area, located 30 km south of the capital, left one dead and two others wounded.

Security forces have blocked major roads in Baghdad in anticipation of attacks against pilgrims who traditionally travel on foot from different parts of Iraq.

The latest explosions came two days after at least 23 people lost their lives and dozens of others sustained injuries in a car bomb attack that targeted a group of Shia Muslim pilgrims in Baghdad’s southeastern neighborhood of Nahrawan on Saturday morning as the pilgrims were heading to Kadhimiya.

SS