19 killed in #Baghdad car bomb attacks

A wave of car bombings in mainly Shia areas of Baghdad killed 19 people on Tuesday, officials said.

The attacks came as Iraqi Shias were celebrating the birthday of Imam Ali, the cousin and son-in-law of Prophet Muhammad and Shia Islam’s most sacred martyr.

Police officials said a car bomb went off in the Baghdad neighbourhood of Sadr city, killing four people and wounding six in the morning hours. Another car bomb elsewhere in Sadr city went off near a cluster of homes, killing two people and wounding seven.

Associated Press Television footage from one of the Sadr city attacks showed a thick smoke rising from the blast area where several cars were on fire.