Baghdad - Car bombs targeting a crowded market and Shi'ite militia checkpoints north of Iraq's capital killed 27 people on Saturday, authorities said, as the country's prime minister vowed to punish Islamic State militants who smashed ancient artefacts in a northern city.
The first bombs exploded near the market in the town of Balad Ruz, 70km northeast of Baghdad, killing 11 people and wounding 50, police and hospital officials said.
A suicide car bomber later attacked a checkpoint manned by Shi'ite militiamen near the city of Samarra, killing eight Shi'ite fighters and wounding 15, authorities said.