Bombings Kill Dozens In Baghdad, Erbil

April 17, 2015

Iraqi officials said at least 40 people were killed in a series of bombings that mainly targeted public places in Baghdad on April 17.

The deadliest of the attacks came when a car bomb went off inside a car dealership in the Shi'ite neighborhood of Habibiya in eastern Baghdad, killing 15 people and wounding 26 others, police said.

Earlier, a car bomb detonated near a market in the southwestern Amil neighborhood, killing 13 people and wounding 24 there.

At least three other deadly bombings in Baghdad targeted a market, a commercial center, and a patrol of pro-government fighters. 

Elsewhere in Iraq, a car bomb exploded near the U.S. consulate in Erbil, the capital of the autonomous Kurdish region, killing at least one person.

The U.S. State Department said no U.S. personnel were injured.  

A monitoring organization said the Islamic State extremist group claimed responsibility for the Erbil attack but the claim cannot be independently confirmed. 

Based on reporting by AP and Reuters