Baghdad hit by new car bombings in day of bloodshed for Iraqi capital

A double suicide bombing has hit Baghdad, killing 25. This follows in the immediate wake of a deadly Islamic State (Isis) attack in Sadr City that killed 53 people in a day of bloodshed for the Iraqi capital.

Associated Press reported one of the two blasts took place in the Kadhimiyah neighbourhood in north west Baghdad. Eighteen people were killed in the explosion, including five policemen. The attack also wounded a further 34.

A second car bomb killed seven and wounded 22 in the Iraqi capital's northern district of Jamiya.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attacks. However, the double suicide blasts followed on the heels of an Islamic State car-bombing on a market in the majority Shia area of Baghdad's Sadr City. An SUV laden with explosives was detonated in the commercial district at rush hour, in an attack designed to cause maximum casualties.

Reuters reported that the vehicle was outside a beauty salon in the eastern district's Iraqi capital. A number of brides have been reported killed in the attacks as they prepared for their marriage ceremonies at the parlour. Forty-five people were injured in the attack, after the death toll rose from an initial 18 to 34, according to AFP.

IS (Daesh) said it had carried out the bombing in an online statement. The militant group, which holds swathes of territory in Iraq and neighbouring Syria, said it targeted Shia militia men in the area.

In late February, IS claimed responsibility for a series of attacks in Baghdad and Abu Grahib, killing more than 80. A double suicide bombing in Sadr City at a market killed 73, with as many as 112 wounded.