Bomb attacks in Iraq’s Diyala claim 33 lives

BAQUBA: Three explosions, two of them suicide car bombs claimed by the Islamic State jihadist group, killed at least 33 people in Iraq's restive Diyala province on Monday. The blasts targeted mostly Shiite areas and came less than a month after a massive suicide attack left at least 120 dead in Khan Bani Saad, also in the eastern province of Diyala. The deadliest of Monday's suicide bombings was in an area called Huwaydir. Security sources and medics at the main hospital in Baquba said at least 20 people were killed there. Another suicide bomber drove his explosives-laden vehicle past a checkpoint before blowing himself up in Kanaan district, killing at least 10.

The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the two suicide attacks in statements released on social media. An improvised explosive device also went off in a neighbourhood between Baquba and Huwaydir, killing three. It was not immediately clear how many of the victims were civilians.