Baghdad - A series of car bombs on Saturday ripped through a crowded marketplace and a Shi’ite militia's checkpoint, killing a total of 19 people in separate attacks north of the Iraqi capital Baghdad, officials said, as the country's prime minister vowed to punish those who smashed ancient artefacts in a northern city.
Police said the first attack took place on Saturday morning when a car bomb exploded near a busy market in the town of Balad Ruz. Minutes later, a second car bomb went off, targeting people who gathered to inspect the site of the first blast.
Balad Ruz is 70km northeast of Baghdad.