Iraq officials: Bombs, mortars kill 17 people, including 8 troops in village retaken from IS

BAGHDAD – A series of attacks in Iraq, including an explosion at a booby-trapped house in a village recently retaken from IS militants north of Baghdad, killed 17 people on Friday, officials said.

The explosion at the house in Zalaya village, about 75 kilometres (45 miles) from Baghdad, took place as Iraqi troops were at the premises, carrying out an inspection of the house, said police officials.

The blast killed eight soldiers and wounded 12, they said. The village fell into the hands of Islamic State militants last year but was retaken by Iraqi security forces days ago.

Earlier Friday, mortar shells landed on houses in Baghdad’s northwestern Shiite district of Shula, killing four people and wounding 13. Also, a bomb struck a commercial street in the capital’s northeastern Shiite suburb of Husseiniya, killing three people and wounding 11 there.

Police officials said a bomb also exploded in western Baghdad, near a row of shops for spare parts for cars, killing two people and wounding nine others.

Medical officials confirmed the casualty figures from the attacks. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to media.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for Friday’s attacks.

Iraq has seen near-daily bombings and other attacks, mainly targeting Shiite neighbourhoods and security forces. The attacks are often claimed by the Sunni extremist Islamic State group, which seized much of northern and western Iraq during a summer offensive.