Bomb blast injures six as violence continues to rise in Iraq

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan 24) – An explosion in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad on Saturday left six people injured, according to security sources.

“A bomb was placed near stores in the Abu Ghraib district, west of Baghdad,” an unnamed security source was quoted by Iraqi media. “The blast left six people injured.”

Attacks targeting the civilian population are on the rise despite Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi’s “final victory” announcement last month signaling the military defeat of the Islamic State (IS) in Iraq.

According to its monthly casualty’s report, the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) reported that a total of 69 civilians, excluding police personnel, were killed, while 142 others were wounded in December due to acts of terrorism, violence, and armed conflict.

Baghdad was the worst affected province in the country with 122 civilian casualties—24 people killed and 98 injured.

Salahuddin Province ranked second with seven people killed and 25 injured, while the disputed region of Kirkuk came third with 15 killed and six people injured.

The figures reported by the UNAMI saw a significant decline compared to November where 117 civilians were killed and another 264 injured, but armed conflict persists in the country with some fearing IS’ reemergence.

A Canadian special forces commander recently warned that the battle against the militant group could “go underground,” adding that their “threat [was] going to morph.”

“What is [IS] going to do next? If they are not landowners with an overt military presence and heavy weapons in the hinterland, we believe they are probably going to go underground,” Major-General Mike Rouleau, the commander of Canada’s special forces, explained.