BAGHDAD —
A series of car bombings targeting a Shiite mosque and markets in the Iraqi capital killed at least 17 people Friday, officials said, in the second straight day of attacks in Baghdad blamed on Islamic miltiants who have seized large parts of the country.
In the deadliest attack, a parked, explosives-packed car detonated near the al-Mubarak mosque in downtown Baghdad’s mostly Shiite district of Karradah, killing eight people and wounding 18 others, police said.
Cars later exploded in two outdoor markets, one in the Shiite suburb of Nahrawan, the other in the Shiite disitrct of Bayaa. The attacks killed nine people and wounded 23, according to police. Medical officials confirmed the casualty tolls. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media.
Friday’s attacks came a day after a series of deadly attacks, mainly in Shiite areas in Baghdad, which left dozens of people killed.
The extremist Islamic State group, which considers Shiites heretics, has captured large chunks of territory in western and northern Iraq, plunging the country into its worst crisis since U.S. troops left at the end of 2011. U.S. warplanes have been carrying out airstrikes against the group as Iraqi and Kurdish security forces work to retake territory it has seized.
