LOC13:27
10:27 GMT
BAGHDAD, Aug 1 (KUNA) -- A chain of car bomb blasts claimed 16 lives and wounded 33 people at crowded locations and bazaars in the Iraqi capital on Friday.
Police said 12 Iraqis died and 20 others suffered injuries when a booby-trapped car blew up near a restaurant in Al-Habiba in the eastern suburban Al-Sadr district. The explosion inflicted extensive damage at the restaurant and nearby stores.
Several other identical blasts in other districts of the Baghdad region killed four civilians and wounded 13 others, police said. Government security forces sealed off the blasts' scenes and victims were whisked to hospitals.
Iraqi Government is struggling to re-enforce its authority across the nation but is being challenged by armed groups, namely the "Islamic State" militia which has recently taken control of the northern city Mosul and some nearby areas. (end)
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