BAGHDAD — A series of bombings ripped through Baghdad on Friday, mainly targeting public places and killing at least 29 people, Iraqi officials said.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attacks but violence has escalated both in Baghdad and elsewhere in Iraq in the wake of Islamic State group's capture of large swaths of territory in the country's west and north during a blitz last year. The Islamic State has taken credit for similar attacks in the past, especially those targeting Shiites, as well as Iraqi security forces and government buildings.
The deadliest of Friday's attacks came when a car bomb detonated near an out-door market in the capital's southwestern Amil neighborhood, killing nine people and wounding 20 there, police officials said.
Medical officials confirmed the casualties in Friday's attacks.
All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to media.
Read Saturday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.