17 killed in IS Baghdad blasts

Bombings claimed by the Islamic State jihadist group hit shopping areas in Shia districts of the Iraqi capital yesterday, killing at least 17 people, security and medial officials said.

The group said IS suicide bombers with explosive vests carried out the attacks in the Baghdad Jadida neighbourhood in the east of the city and the Bayaa area in the south.

Officials said at least eight people were killed and 29 wounded in Baghdad Jadida, although some said the area was hit by a roadside bomb as well as a suicide bomber.

Another suicide bomber targeted the Bayaa, killing at least nine people and wounding 30, officials said.

IS and other Sunni extremists consider Shia Muslims to be heretics, and the jihadist group often targets civilians in Shia areas of Baghdad.

Checkpoints in the capital frequently cause massive traffic jams that inconvenience citizens, but they consistently fail to prevent attacks.

For years, most checkpoints featured fake bomb detectors that have now finally been scrapped, and guards wave most cars through unchecked.

Yesterday's violence came two days after another suicide bombing claimed by IS killed six people in western Baghdad. A day before that, bomb and gun attacks claimed by the jihadist group killed 12 people in the area of Tikrit, a city north of the capital.