BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Three blasts killed at least 17 people and wounded more than 50 in predominantly Shi’ite Muslim districts of Baghdad on Tuesday, police and medical sources said.

A suicide bomber detonated his explosive vest in a commercial street in the eastern Baghdad al-Jadida area of the Iraqi capital, killing nine people and wounding more than 30, they said.

Another suicide attack hit a commercial street of Bayaa in western Baghdad, killing six and wounding 22, the sources said.

A roadside bomb exploded near a gathering of cattle herders and merchants in al-Radhwaniya, also in western Baghdad, killing two people, they said.

Islamic State claimed the two suicide attacks, but did not mention the third assault.

The hardline Sunni Muslim group has intensified bomb attacks in government-held areas this year as it loses territory to U.S.-backed Iraqi government forces and Iranian-backed Shi’ite militias.

The group claimed a truck bombing in July that killed at least 324 people in the Karrada shopping area of Baghdad - the deadliest single attack in Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein in 2003.

The group continues to control vast areas in northern and western Iraq, including the city of Mosul, captured in 2014.</s>Bombings targeting shopping areas in Shia districts of the Iraqi capital on Tuesday killed at least 17 people and wounded more than 50, security and medical officials said. The Islamic State (IS) claimed an attack in the Baghdad Jadida neighbourhood in the east of the city, saying it was carried out by a man wearing an explosive vest. Officials said at least eight people were killed and at least 29 wounded in Baghdad Jadida, although some said the area was hit by a roadside bomb as well as a suicide bomber. Another suicide bomber targeted the Bayaa area in south Baghdad, killing at least nine people and wounding at least 26, officials said.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for that attack.</s>An explosion Sunday evening in central Baghdad marked the third attack of the day in the Iraqi capital, where a total of eight people were killed and at least 25 wounded in the three blasts.

The latest attack left one person dead and five others hurt, according to security officials at the Baghdad Operations Center. Authorities did not provide additional details.

Earlier, ISIS claimed responsibility for the day's deadliest attack, a suicide bombing that killed at least six people, according to the ISIS-affiliated Amaq news agency. CNN could not independently confirm the claim.

Eighteen people were wounded. The suicide bomber detonated an explosive belt in the Iskan city area of western Baghdad, Iraqi authorities said.

The bomber struck when a small group of Shia pilgrims was preparing in a tent for the holy month of Muharram, an Iraqi police source told CNN.

The terrorist group claimed it was targeting Shia militia members. Separately, at least one person was killed and two wounded when a bomb exploded on a bus in central Baghdad, the Baghdad Operations Center told CNN.</s>The Islamic State jihadist group claimed an attack in the Baghdad Jadida neighbourhood in the east of the city, saying it was carried out by a man wearing an explosive vest.

Officials said at least eight people were killed and at least 29 wounded in Baghdad Jadida, although some said the area was hit by a roadside bomb as well as a suicide bomber.

Conflicting accounts are common in the confused aftermath of attacks in Iraq: police at the scene said it was hit by a roadside bomb that wounded six people but left no fatalities.

Another suicide bomber targeted the Bayaa area in south Baghdad, killing at least nine people and wounding at least 26, officials said.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for that attack, but IS frequently carries out suicide bombers targeting Iraqi Shiite Muslims, whom it considers to be heretics.

Tuesday’s violence came two days after another suicide bombing claimed by IS killed six people in western Baghdad.

A day before that, bomb and gun attacks claimed by the jihadist group killed 12 people in the area of Tikrit, a city north of the capital.

Iraqi forces are preparing for a push on Mosul, the last IS-held city in the country, after regaining much of the Iraqi territory the jihadists seized in June 2014.

But IS has maintained the ability to carry out attacks in government-controlled areas even as the jihadist group lost ground, and it is likely to increasingly turn to such insurgent tactics if it loses Mosul.</s>BAGHDAD (AP) — Separate suicide bombings ripped through busy commercial areas in Shiite-dominated neighborhoods of the Iraqi capital on Tuesday, killing at least 17 civilians, officials said.

The deadliest attack took place in the eastern New Baghdad neighborhood, where a bomber approached a gathering of construction workers and set off his explosives-laden vest, killing 11 civilians, a police officer said. At least 28 civilians were wounded and the explosion damaged nearby shops and cars, he said.

Hours later, another suicide bomber blew himself up in an outdoor market in the southwestern neighborhood of Bayaa, killing six shoppers and wounding 21 others, another police officer said.

Medical officials confirmed the casualty figures. All the officials spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to release the information.

In online statements, the Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attacks, saying it targeted Shiite militia members. The Associated Press could not verify the authenticity of the statements, but they were posted on a militant website commonly used by the extremists.

The militants, who control parts of Iraq, have recently relied on insurgency-style attacks away from front lines as they suffer losses on the battlefields. The biggest urban area they control in Iraq is the country's second-largest city of Mosul, about 225 miles (360 kilometers) northwest of Baghdad. Iraqi officials have said they plan to retake the city by the end of the year.</s>Separate suicide bombings ripped through busy commercial areas in Shiite-dominated neighbourhoods of the Iraqi capital on Tuesday, killing at least 17 civilians, officials said.

 The deadliest attack took place in the eastern New Baghdad neighbourhood, where a bomber approached a gathering of construction workers and set off his explosives-laden vest, killing 11 civilians, a police officer said. At least 28 civilians were wounded and the explosion damaged nearby shops and cars, he said.

 Hours later, another suicide bomber blew himself up in an outdoor market in the southwestern neighbourhood of Bayaa, killing six shoppers and wounding 21 others, another police officer said.

 Medical officials confirmed the casualty figures. All the officials spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorised to release the information.

 No group has claimed responsibility for the attacks, but Islamic State group militants have claimed multiple similar attacks. The militants, who control parts of Iraq, have recently relied on insurgency-style attacks away from front lines as they suffer losses on the battlefields.

 The biggest urban area they control in Iraq is the country’s second-largest city of Mosul, about 225 miles (360 kilometres) northwest of Baghdad. Iraqi officials have said they plan to retake the city by the end of the year.</s>(IraqiNews.com) Baghdad – Suicide bomb killed four and injured another 15 on Tuesday in New Baghdad District in the eastern part of the capital, security source told Al-Sumaria News.

According to the website, the dead bodies were transported to the Forensic Medicine to be identified and the wounded to near hospitals to receive medical treatment. Security forces cordoned the area and prevented people from approaching until inspections are completed.

Baghdad Operations Command announced earlier today that a number of civilians were killed and others were wounded after a terrorist wearing explosive belt detonated himself behind al-Samarrai Mosque in New Baghdad District.</s>BAGHDAD — A suicide bomber blew himself up in a busy commercial area of the capital, Baghdad, killing at least nine civilians, officials said.

The bomber approached a gathering of construction workers in the eastern New Baghdad neighborhood and set off his explosives-laden vest, a police officer said. At least 28 civilians were wounded and the explosion damaged nearby shops and cars, he said.

A medical official confirmed the casualty figures. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to release the information.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but Islamic State group militants have claimed multiple similar attacks. The militants, who control parts of Iraq, have recently relied on insurgency-style attacks away from front lines as they suffer losses on the battlefields.

The biggest urban area they control in Iraq is the country's second largest city of Mosul, about 225 miles (360 kilometers) northwest of Baghdad. Iraqi officials have said they hope to launch an operation to retake the city by the end of the year.

Associated Press writer Murtada Faraj in Baghdad contributed to this report.
Three bombings kill at least 17 people in Baghdad.