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At least 3 killed in 2 car bombs in eastern Iraq

31 October 2013 17:57 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. At least three people were killed and seven wounded in two car bomb explosions in Iraq's eastern province of Diyala on Thursday, a provincial police source said, APA reports quoting Xinhua.

The attack occurred before the sunset when two back-to-back car bombs ripped through a busy area for selling cars in the town of Jadidat al-Shatt, some 30 km northwest of the provincial capital city of Baquba, which is about 65 km northeast of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

The blasts set fire to several nearby cars prepared for sale at the scene, the source said.

The toll could rise as ambulances, police and civilian vehicles were evacuating the victims to the town's hospital and medical centers, the source added.

Diyala province which stretches from the eastern edges of Baghdad to the Iranian border east of the country has long been a volatile area since the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 despite repeated military operations against the militant groups.

Earlier, the police said that up to 14 people were killed and some 55 others wounded in separate shootings and bombings across the country during the day.

Iraq is witnessing its worst eruption of violence in recent years. According to the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq, almost 6, 000 Iraqis were killed and over 14,000 others injured from January to September this year.