At least 18 killed in Baghdad car bombings

BAGHDAD - At least 18 people were killed and 62 others wounded in six car bomb explosions in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad on Monday, an interior ministry source said.

A car bomb went off in Kadhmiyah district in northern Baghdad, killing two people and wounding eight others, the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

Another car bomb and a roadside bomb ripped through Um al- Maalif area in southern Baghdad, killing four people and wounding 12 others, the source said.

In central Baghdad, a third car bomb exploded at a popular marketplace near Shorja commercial area, killing three people and wounding ten others, the source added.

Meanwhile, a car bomb went off at a thoroughfare in Baiyaa district in the southern part of the capital, killing two people and wounding nine others, he said.

The four attacks followed two car bombings in the capital when the source said that a car bomb went off in Saadoun Street in downtown Baghdad, killing up to six people and wounding some 14.

He also said that a car bomb went off near al-Samarrai mosque in New Baghdad district in the southern part of the capital, killing a civilian and wounding nine.

Violence is still common in the Iraqi cities despite the dramatic decrease since its peak in 2006 and 2007 when the country was engulfed in sectarian killings.