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Bombing in central Baghdad kills at least 18

Twelve people were killed and 38 wounded Saturday night when two parked vehicle bombs exploded in separate neighborhoods in Baghdad, police officials said.

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An interior ministry spokesman said the assailant had planted a auto bomb near a restaurant in the area.

On social media, Iraqis shares videos and photographs of large flames in Karrada, with initial reports suggesting that as many as 20 people had been killed in the attacks for which ISIS claimed responsibility.

People gather at the site of an earlier auto bomb attack in Baghdad al-Jadeeda, an eastern district of the Iraqi capital June 9, 2016.

The second bombing took place in the eastern district of Sha’ab, reportedly resulting in six deaths and wounding 12.

At least 90 people were killed May 11 when several bombs went off in Baghdad neighborhoods.

Islamic State claimed responsibility for a suicide auto bomb in the Karrada shopping area, in a statement circulated online by supporters of the ultra-hard line Sunni group. Now, IS is estimated to control only 14 percent of Iraqi territory, according to the office of Iraq’s prime minister.

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Iraqi forces last month dislodged Islamic State militants from Falluja, their stronghold just west of the capital that served as a launch pad for such attacks.

A member of Iraqi security forces stands guard