Baghdad Bombings Martyr 37, Wound 64

Local Editor

A pair of bombings in the Iraqi capital Saturday martyred 37 people hours before the city's longtime curfew was set to come to an end.

The deadliest attack happened in the New Baghdad section of the city. Police officials said a suicide bomber targeted a street filled with hardware stores, killing 14 people and wounding at least 38.

The second attack took place shortly afterward in central Baghdad's popular Shorja market. Police said two improvised explosive devices detonated 25 meters apart from one another, martyring at least 11 people and wounding 26.

There has been no claim for either attack thus far. Hospital officials confirmed the casualties. All officials spoke anonymously as they are not authorized to brief the media.

The incident comes ahead of Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi's decision to lift Iraq's longtime curfew beginning at midnight Sunday.

Recent bombings have frequently targeted civilian areas in the capital, but the violence has been considerably subdued from the darkest days of sectarian bloodletting in 2006 and 2007.

Iraqi officials have repeated assured that the capital is secure.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team