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Two bombings kill 12 in Iraq

Two separate bombings in Iraq have killed twelve people and injured 39, reports say.

A car bomb blew up in Hilla, 95 kilometers (60 miles) south of Baghdad, killing eight people and injuring 32 at about 7:45 pm (1645 GMT) on Monday, while a roadside bomb in Baquba, 60 kilometers (37.5 miles) north of Baghdad, killed four people and injured seven, security and medical sources told AFP.

However, Reuters quoted Iraqi health officials as saying that nine young soccer players and fans were killed when a bomb exploded near a football pitch in Hilla.

The incidents are the latest in a string of attacks against Shia Muslims that have left more than 170 people dead across the country over the past two weeks.

On June 17, at least 22 people were killed and 50 others were injured in a bomb attack that targeted a funeral ceremony in the northern city of Baquba.

On June 16, two car bombings killed about 32 people on the day of the annual commemoration of the martyrdom of the seventh Shia Imam, Imam Musa Kazim (PBUH). And on June 13, a series of attacks by al-Qaeda terrorists killed over 70 people.

Violence has risen in Iraq since December 2011, when an arrest warrant was issued for fugitive Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi, who has been charged with running a death squad targeting Iraqi officials and Shia Muslims.