Multiple bombings rocked central Baghdad on Wednesday, striking mainly near the heavily fortified Green Zone where key government offices are located, killing at least 22 people, Iraqi officials said.
The deadliest of Wednesday’s attacks took place across the street from the Foreign Ministry building, when two parked car bombs went off simultaneously in two different parking lots. Those explosions killed at least 12 people, including three policemen, and wounded 22, a police officer said.
Shortly afterward, a suicide bomber walked into a nearby falafel restaurant where he set off his explosives—laden belt, killing five people and wounding 12, the officer added. The restaurant and others around it are often used by officials or visitors waiting for security escorts to take them inside the Green Zone.
Also on Wednesday morning, a parked car bomb went off in Khilani Square in the Iraqi capital’s commercial center, killing five people and wounding 11, another police officer said. Security forces sealed off the area as firefighters struggled to put out the blaze ignited by the bombing.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the bombings but such attacks against government buildings, security forces and Shiites in general bear the hallmarks of al-Qaeda’s affiliate in Iraq.
