BAGHDAD: Bombings in the Baghdad area killed at least 24 people yesterday, just days ahead of major Shia religious commemorations that face significant danger from militants, security and medical officials said.
In the deadliest attack, a suicide bomber detonated an explosives-rigged truck at the checkpoint leading to southern Baghdad, killing at least 20 people and wounding at least 53.
Security officials said the suicide bombing was the only attack in the area, while a medical official said a car bomb also hit shops in nearby Yusifiyah also contributed to the toll.
And an explosives-rigged vehicle detonated on Baghdad’s Palestine Street near a tent serving refreshments to Shiite pilgrims, hundreds of thousands of whom will travel to Karbala, south of Baghdad, for the Ashura commemorations, which peak on Tuesday.
Pilgrims taking part in Ashura commemorations have been targeted in attacks that have killed dozens in past years.
Libya closes eastern airport for security reasons
BENGHAZI: Rocket fire has forced the closure of Labraq airport, the main gateway into Libya’s government-held east, the airport director said yesterday. Gunmen have repeatedly fired Grad rockets into Labraq airport, east of Benghazi, and all flights have been suspended for security reasons, director Abu Bakr Al Abaidi said.
Oil-producing Libya has descended into chaos with two governments and two parliaments vying for legitimacy three years after the ousting of strongman Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.
An armed faction mainly from Misrata seized Tripoli in August, setting up its own prime minister and parliament and forcing the old government to move to the east where the elected parliament is also based.
Agencies
