Triple car bomb attacks kill 19, injure 72 in Iraqi capital

Three car bomb explosions rattled near separate Shiite religious sites in Iraq's restive capital city of Baghdad Tuesday, leaving at least 19 people killed and 72 more injured, said the local police. A Baghdad police official told Xinhua on condition of anonymity that eight people were killed and 21 others wounded when a car bomb exploded near a Shiite mosque in the al-Shu'ala district in northwestern Baghdad. In the second similar attack, six were killed and 32 injured near another Shiite mosque in Qureat area in northern Baghdad, said the source. He added that in the third attack of the same type, five were killed and 19 injured near a mosque in northwestern Baghdad's Hurriya district. As many of the injured are in serious condition, the death toll could rise later, he said. Tuesday's triple attacks took place amid the Shiite Ashura holidays and as Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani arrived in Iraq for talks with Iraqi leaders on issues including the Syria crisis.