15 Jan 2018

Baghdad attack 'kills a least 35'

10:02 pm on 15 January 2018

At least 35 people have been killed in a double suicide bombing in the Iraqi capital Baghdad, medical sources say, the second attack in three days.

People gather at the bombing scene in Tayaran Square, Baghdad.

People gather at the bombing scene in Tayaran Square, Baghdad. Photo: AFP / Haydar Hadi / Anadolu Agency

More than 90 were injured in the attack in Tayaran Square, in the city centre.

Baghdad has repeatedly been the target of bombings and armed attacks since the Islamic State (IS) group overran large areas of the country in 2014.

However, the pace of attacks has slowed since Iraq's government declared it had retaken all the territory last month.

Monday's attack was carried out by two men wearing suicide vests packed with explosives, the interior ministry said.

The site of the attack is a busy square where large crowds of construction workers gather to find work every morning.

It has been targeted by militants in the past.

An AFP reporter said there were a large number of security personnel at the site.

A suicide bomb attack on a checkpoint in the north of the city on Saturday killed at least five people, police said.

- BBC