Bombings in Baghdad area kill at least 18: Police

Under heavy pressure on the battlefield, the jihadist organisation has struck back with bloody attacks in Baghdad.

Smoke rises as Iraqi security forces and civilians gather at the scene of a deadly suicide car bomb attack in the Shiite-dominated neighborhood of New Baghdad, Iraq. |AP

BAGHDAD: A suicide car bomb attack near a military base north of Baghdad and another blast near a market in the Iraqi capital killed at least 18 people Thursday, police said.

Both explosions occurred at around 9:00 am (0600 GMT).

The attack by a bus station in Taji, a town just north of Baghdad that is home to one of Iraq's largest military bases, killed at least seven people and wounded 18, a police colonel said.

Another car bomb explosion in the capital's mostly Shiite neighbourhood of Baghdad Jadida killed at least 11 people and wounded 27, the same source said.

A Baghdad health official confirmed the casualty figures.

There was no immediate claim for the blasts but the Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for nearly all such attacks in recent months.