Suicide Car Bomb blasts kill at least 22 in Baghdad

• Two separate car bombings killed 22 in Baghdad
• Attacks were expected to subside in the Iraqi capital, which is not the case
• IS has claimed responsibility for many previous attacks, but not this one

Two separate suicide car bomb attacks in Iraq's capital have killed at least 22 Thursday morning, June 9, according to police.

One bomb targeted a commercial street in eastern Baghdad, killing at 15 civilians and wounding 35 others. Another explosion hit a bus stop near one of the country's largest military bases north of Baghdad and killed at least 12 people and leaving 28 others injured.

The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for almost all suicide attacks in Baghdad in recent months, although no claim for Thursday's explosions has yet been verified.

Attacks in the Iraqi capital have not subsided as many expected, despite the Iraqi offensive against Islamic State militants in Fallujah, a military spokesman in Baghdad said Wednesday, June 8.

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Iraqi forces have been battling with the IS fighters for a few weeks in an effort to retake the city, which has been controlled by the Muslim group since January, 2014. The offensive has so-far surrounded the city on three sides, with the only area remaining unclaimed being the western bank of the Euphrates.

Human Rights Watch called upon the Iraqi government Thursday, June 9 to investigate reports of abuse carried out by its military forces against civilians in the operation to take Fallujah.

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Hundreds of men in a Fallujah hospital claim they were physically assaulted by Iraq's Popular Mobilization Forces, according to the international rights group.

A U.N. estimate puts the number of civilians trapped in Fallujah at around 50,000. People have been attempting to cross the Euphrates River as a means of escape, but the U.N. said several people, including children, have drowned while attempting to traverse the 300 meter-wide river.

-prepared by Saurabh Bodas (with inputs from VOA), an intern at NewsGram. Twitter: @saurabhbodas96

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