BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Twelve people were killed late on Friday in two suicide bombings claimed by Islamic State at a shopping mall in eastern Baghdad, police and hospital sources said.

More than 40 people were wounded in the attack at Nakheel Mall across from the oil ministry, the sources said. One bomb went off at the entrance to the mall, the other in the parking lot.

Unconfirmed amateur video published on Facebook showed what appeared to be four separate fires, including two cars engulfed in flames, under a highway overpass near the mall amid the wailing sirens of first responders.

Amaq news agency, which supports Islamic State, said in an online statement that two suicide bombers, one wearing a vest and the other in a car, had targeted “a gathering of Shi’ites” on Palestine Street.

The fight against Islamic State, which seized a third of Iraq’s territory in 2014, has exacerbated a long-running sectarian conflict in Iraq, mostly between the Shi’ite majority and the Sunni minority.

The militants have lost ground in the past year to U.S.-backed government forces and Iranian-backed Shi’ite militias, and Iraq is gearing up for an offensive next month to recapture the northern city of Mosul.

Yet such bombings show the group can still strike outside the territory its controls in northern and western Iraq. A car 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 U.S.-led invasion toppled Saddam Hussein 13 years ago.</s>(IraqiNews.com) Baghdad – The Islamic State (ISIS) has claimed responsibility for the double car bomb attacks that took place at Baghdad’s Nakheel Mall on Friday.

The ISIS-affiliated Amaq News Agency said that the blasts were carried out by ISIS suicide bombers who detonated two car bombs before blowing themselves up to target a Shiite gathering on Falastin Street.

Latest reports revealed that at least 10 people were killed with over 40 others injured in the double bombing that occurred at the parking area of al-Nakheel shopping mall, in eastern Baghdad.

Noteworthy, ISIS previously carried out an extensive attack on the shopping center in Karada area, also days before Eid al-Fitr, which killed nearly 300 persons.</s>Iraqi security forces clean up the site in the aftermath of car bomb explosion in Baghdad, Iraq, Saturday (AP photo)

BAGHDAD — Two bomb blasts outside a shopping mall in central Baghdad claimed by the Daesh terror group killed at least 13 people, security and medical officials said on Saturday.

The bombings were the latest in a series of deadly attacks at Baghdad shopping centres this year that have been claimed by Daesh, including one that killed more than 300 people in early July.

The extremist group issued an online statement on the attack, saying it targeted Shiites and was carried out by two Iraqi suicide bombers, one of whom wore an explosive belt and another who drove an explosives-rigged vehicle.

Daesh and other Sunni extremists consider Shiite Muslims to be heretics, and frequently target them in bombings.

The statement said the bomber who drove the explosives-rigged vehicle was from Fallujah, a city west of Baghdad that was retaken from Daesh in late June.

The blasts, which hit just before midnight (2100 GMT) Friday, shattered windows at the multistorey Nakheel Mall on Palestine Street in the city centre, and damaged a fence surrounding it.

As people worked to clean up the rubble outside on Saturday, a private security company guarding the mall sought to prevent images being taken, seizing the cameras of two photographers and a video journalist.

The cameras were eventually returned, but video footage shot by an AFP photographer was deleted by the firm.

Nakheel Mall opened last year and shops were likely to have remained open late ahead of the Muslim feast of Eid Al Adha which begins on Monday.

The mall also houses one of the city’s most popular cinemas.

Daesh claims most major attacks in Baghdad, including some carried out at shopping centres earlier in the year.

On Tuesday, a car bomb near a hospital killed at least seven people in Baghdad’s Karrada district — an area still reeling from a July 3 suicide bombing that set nearby shopping centres ablaze and left more than 300 people dead.

Daesh claimed the Karrada blasts, as well as an attack involving gunmen and a car bomb that killed at least 12 people near another Baghdad mall in January.

Daesh has suffered a string of military defeats over the past year and the caliphate it proclaimed in June 2014 is rapidly shrinking.

As the extremist organisation loses territory across Iraq, officials have warned that it may step up revenge attacks against civilians in Baghdad and other cities.</s>(IraqiNews.com) Baghdad – Two large explosions, believed to be car bombs, took place in the car parking areas of al-Nakheel shopping mall on Falastin street, in eastern Baghdad, late on Friday, a police source informed.

Sharing more details with Iraqi News, he revealed, “The twin explosion left 12 dead and 25 wounded, as well as causing damage to several civilian vehicles.”

The attack comes as Iraqi Muslims are preparing for Eid al-Adha, and these areas are always busy with late night shoppers.</s>BAGHDAD: Two car bomb blasts outside a shopping mall in central Baghdad late Friday killed at least 10 people and wounded another 25, police and medical sources said.

One explosion came from a parked car and the other was caused by an explosives-laden vehicle driven by a suicide bomber outside the Nakheel mall, a police colonel said.</s>Two car bomb blasts outside a shopping mall in central Baghdad late Friday killed at least 10 people and wounded another 28, police and medical sources said.

One explosion came from a parked car and the other was caused by an explosives-laden vehicle driven by a suicide bomber outside the Nakheel mall, a police colonel said.

The preliminary casualty toll was at least 10 people killed and 28 wounded, the officer said. An official in Baghdad's health department confirmed the figures.

An interior ministry source also confirmed the details of the attack, which he said took place just before midnight (2100 GMT).

The mall opened last year on Palestine street in central Baghdad and shops were likely to have remained open late during the weekend preceding next week's Eid al-Adha feast.

The multi-storey shopping mall houses one of the city's most popular cinemas.

Interior ministry spokesman Saad Maan however said no casualties were reported inside the mall.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the double bombing but all such attacks recently have been claimed by the Islamic State group.

The latest of these, on Tuesday, killed at least seven people near a hospital in Baghdad's busy district of Karrada.

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.

IS has suffered a string of military defeats over the past year and the caliphate it proclaimed in June 2014 seems doomed.

As the jihadist organisation loses territory across Iraq, observers and officials alike have warned that IS may revert to carrying out campaigns of terror attacks instead of attempting to hold fixed positions.</s>There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast, but Islamic State militants regularly attack civilian and security targets.

Two car bomb blasts outside a shopping mall in central Baghdad late on Friday killed at least 10 people and injured another 25, police and medical sources said.

One explosion came from a parked car and the other was caused by an explosives-laden vehicle driven by a suicide bomber outside the Nakheel mall, a police colonel said.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast, but Islamic State militants regularly attack civilian and security targets inside Iraq's capital.

More than 25 people were also wounded in the bombing at Nakheel Mall across from the oil ministry, and the death toll was expected to rise.

The fight against Islamic State, which seized a third of Iraq's territory in 2014, has exacerbated a long-running sectarian conflict in Iraq, mostly between the Shia majority and the Sunni minority.

The militants have lost ground in the past year to U.S.-backed Iraqi government forces and Iranian-backed Shia militias, but such bombings show they can still strike outside the territory they control in northern and western Iraq.</s>BAGHDAD, Sept 10 (Reuters) - At least seven people were killed late on Friday when a car packed with explosives went off in front of a shopping mall in eastern Baghdad, police and hospital sources said.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast, but Islamic State militants regularly attack civilian and security targets inside Iraq's capital.

More than 30 people were also wounded in the bombing at Nakheel Mall across from the oil ministry, and the death toll was expected to rise.

The fight against Islamic State, which seized a third of Iraq's territory in 2014, has exacerbated a long-running sectarian conflict in Iraq, mostly between the Shi'ite majority and the Sunni minority.

The militants have lost ground in the past year to U.S.-backed Iraqi government forces and Iranian-backed Shi'ite militias, but such bombings show they can still strike outside the territory they control in northern and western Iraq.</s>Explosions in and around Baghdad kill 12 -police, medical sources

BAGHDAD, Sept 10 (Reuters) - Five explosions in and around Baghdad killed at least 12 people on Saturday and wounded 27 others, police and medical sources said.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but Islamic State regularly targets civilian areas and security forces in the capital.

The ultra-hardline insurgents have lost ground in the past year to U.S.-backed government forces and Iranian-backed Shi'ite militias, but such bombings show the group can still strike outside the territory its controls in northern and western Iraq.

The deadliest blast came in Arab al-Jabour, an area of date palm groves on Baghdad's southern outskirts, when an improvised explosive device went off near a civilian vehicle, killing four civilians.

A bomb in a local marketplace in Taji, a northern suburb that hosts a large military base, killed three people and wounded nine, the sources said. A suicide bomber in the central Allawi district of Baghdad detonated his explosives vest, killing two and wounding eight.

Two roadside bombs in the northern al-Husseiniya district and in Yousifiya, south of the city, killed three and wounded 10.
Twin suicide bombings at the Nakheel Mall in eastern Baghdad kill 12 people and injure more than 40 others. ISIL claims responsibility.