At Least 16 Perish in Baghdad Bombings

No immediate claim of responsibility although al-Qaeda affiliate thought to blame

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A wave of bombings claimed at least 16 lives in central Baghdad Wednesday, striking nearby the heavily guarded Green Zone where key government offices are found.

According to AP, at least seven were killed and 15 wounded when two parked car bombs were detonated simultaneously outside the Foreign Ministry building.

A suicide bomber killed five and injured another dozen when he walked into a nearby restaurant popular with government officials and set off his explosive belt. A third car bomb went off in Khilani Square in the Iraqi capital’s commercial hub, killing four and wounding eight.

According to the U.N., 8,868 people were killed in Iraq in 2013 — the highest death toll since 2007 as extremist violence continues its resurgence.

[AP]