Baghdad, August 19: Two strong car bombs have exploded near two ministries in the centre of Iraqi capital Baghdad, leaving at least nine people dead and 80 more injured.
The massive explosions came on Wednesday, including one that ripped through the walls of the foreign ministry.
The blast killed six people and sent columns of smoke into the nearby residential area of Salhiyeh outside the heavily-fortified ‘Green Zone’.
A second car bomb detonated close to the finance ministry in the northern Baghdad neighborhood of Waziriyah, a police official told AFP on condition of anonymity, putting the death toll from the blast at at least three.
Hospital officials and medics confirmed receiving up to 80 people injured in Wednesday’s bombings.
Two mortars also were fired into the Green Zone where foreign embassies and government offices are located.
One of the projectiles went off outside the fortified area, a security official said.
—–Agencies