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38 killed, 86 injured in twin car bombs in Iraq

Sunday, 01 May 2016 11:29 AM [ Last Update: Sunday, 01 May 2016 2:04 PM ]

Policemen gather at the site of a car bomb attack in Samawa, south of Baghdad, May 1, 2016. (Reuters Photo)

At least 38 people are killed and 86 others injured in two car bombs in the southern Iraqi city of Samawa, security and medical officials say.

A police official said the first explosion took place around midday Sunday near government offices in the center of Samawa, while the second blast occurred minutes later at a bus station in an open-air area.

"The hospitals have received 33 dead," AFP quoted a senior official in the Muthanna health department, which covers Samawa, as saying.

Samawa, a Shia-dominated city, is located some 370km south of the Iraqi capital, Baghdad.

The official also noted that the death toll from both blasts is expected to rise. A medical official also confirmed the number of casualties.

Online photographs showed huge plumes of smoke rising above buildings and a number of burnt out cars and bodies lying on the ground at the site of the first attack.

The Takfiri group Daesh claimed responsibility for both attacks.

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