Another Friday in Iraq – Car Bombings All Around

Fox News:

A car bomb exploded outside the U.S. Consulate in the northern Iraqi city of Irbil Friday, and a series of bombings ravaged several areas around Baghdad, killing at least 29 people.  

A blast and gunfire was heard in central Irbil, a Reuters witness said, which is unusual in the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan.

The cause of the blast was not immediately clear. There was no official word on injuries, but a U.S. official said no consulate personnel or guards were hurt or killed in Friday’s blast. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the press.

A security source in Iraq told Fox News an explosion occurred near the American consulate, close to a church named Mar Yusef.

The large blast went off just outside the consulate building in Irbil’s Ankawa neighborhood, setting nearby cars on fire, an Associated Press reporter on the scene said. Kurdish security forces quickly arrived on the scene.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

Meanwhile, a series of bombings ripped through Baghdad Friday, mainly targeting public places and killing at least 29 people, Iraqi officials said.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attacks but violence has escalated both in Baghdad and elsewhere in Iraq in the wake of the Islamic State group’s capture of large swaths of territory in the country’s west and north during a blitz last year