Baghdad bombing toll climbs

BAGHDAD (AP):

Iraqi officials say the death toll from the car bomb attack claimed by the Islamic State group in central Baghdad has climbed to at least 115.

Hospital and police officials said yesterday that another 187 people were wounded in the overnight attack, and nearly a dozen people remain unaccounted for and feared dead

A second bomb attack in eastern Baghdad early yesterday killed five people and wounded 16.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorised to release information to the press.

The bombings targeted families and young people out at restaurants, cafÈs and in shopping malls after breaking their dawn-to-dusk Ramadan fast.

Iraqi officials say that 78 people have been killed and 160 wounded in a car bombing carried out by the Islamic State group in the centre of Baghdad.

In an online statement, IS claimed responsibility for the Sunday-morning attack, which struck a busy shopping district of the capital. The statement could not be independently verified.

The bombing hit as families and young people were out on the streets of Karada district after breaking their Ramadan fast.

A second bomb attack in eastern Baghdad on Sunday morning killed five people and wounded 16.

The casualty figures were confirmed by police and hospital officials, who spoke anonymously because they were not authorised to release information to the press.

The attacks come after Iraqi forces retook the city of Fallujah from IS.