Suicide car bomb kills 8 in Baghdad district

TIL Desk/World/Baghdad- Six civilians and two policemen were killed when the bomber rammed his explosives-laden car into the checkpoint in the Shiite-dominated northeastern al-Rashidiya district, a police officer said. Up to 23 other people were wounded, he added.

A medical official confirmed the casualties. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity as they are not authorised to talk to the media. On Tuesday, at least 12 people were killed in a suicide car bombing at an outdoor vegetable and fruit market in al-Rashidiya.

No group has claimed responsibility for the two attacks, which bore the hallmarks of the Islamic State group. The Sunni extremists, who consider Shiites heretics, swept across northern and western Iraq in the summer of 2014, capturing large chunks of territory and plunging the country into its worst crisis since US troops left at the end of 2011.