Multiple attacks in, around Baghdad kill at least 12 people

BAGHDAD — Separate attacks in and around the Iraqi capital on Sunday killed at least 12 people and wounded dozens, officials said.

The deadliest was in Baghdad's western suburb of Abu Ghraib when a suicide bomber blew up himself outside a funeral tent for the wife of a local official, killing three policemen and two civilians, a police officer said. At least 16 others were wounded in that attack, he added.

Elsewhere, three civilians were killed and 10 wounded in a bomb explosion in a commercial area in the town of Madain, about 20 kilometers (14 miles) southeast of Baghdad, another police officer said. Four other civilians were killed and 17 wounded in two separate bomb attacks on commercial areas in Baghdad, police added.

Medical officials confirmed the causality figures. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to release information.

While no one has claimed responsibility for the attacks, the Islamic State group regularly targets public areas and government installations in an effort to destabilize the Shiite-led government in Baghdad. The group controls large swaths of territory in Iraq and neighboring Syria, on which they declared an Islamic Caliphate in summer 2014.

Despite recent progress by the Iraqi army, backed by Shiite and Sunni militia fighters, in retaking some of that territory, Iraq still sees near-daily bombings that are often claimed by IS.