Five killed, 12 wounded in Baghdad car bombing

BAGHDAD, Jan. 22 — At least five people were killed and 12 others wounded in a car bomb explosion at a busy marketplace in northern part of the Iraqi capital Baghdad on Tuesday, an interior ministry source said.

A booby-trapped car, parked at a popular market in Baghdad northern district of al-Shula, detonated at around midday, the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

The blast destroyed several nearby shops and many stalls at the market of the poor neighborhood, the source said.

The toll could rise as many of the victims were evacuated by ambulances and civilian cars to hospitals and medical centers in the city, the source added.

Earlier in the day, the police reportedly said that a suicide car bombing targeted an Iraqi army checkpoint at the town of Mahmoudiyah, some 30 km south of Baghdad, killed five people and wounded 14 others.

Violence is still common in the Iraqi cities despite the dramatic decrease since its peak in 2006 and 2007 when the country was engulfed in sectarian killings.