At least 42 people were killed on Saturday by bombings in Iraq’s capital Baghdad and the Kurdish-held northern city of Kirkuk.
In Kirkuk, a key city because of its position in oil production, three bombs went off in a crowded commercial district, killing 31 people and wounding dozens.
In Baghdad, a suicide bomber drove an explosives-laden car into the gate of the intelligence headquarters in Karrada district, killing six civilians and five security personnel. At least 24 people were wounded.
It was unclear who carried out the bombings. In the north, Kurdish forces have been fighting the jihadist Islamic State, which has taken cities, towns, and villages since June.
A car bomb in the Iraqi Kurdistan capital of Erbil, wounding two people, reinforced the possibility of an Islamic State campaign.
However, the bombings also contribute to fears of more sectarian violence between Sunni and Shia communities. Saturday’s explosions followed the killing of 73 people in a Sunni mosque in Baquba in eastern Iraq a day earlier.
See Iraq Daily, August 23: Who Killed 73 Worshippers in a Sunni Mosque on Friday?
