Jassem al-Khalidi, a senior health official, said more than 87 people have sustained injuries in the attacks, one of which occurred close to a restaurant near the city of Nasiriyah, situated about 370 kilometers (225 miles) southeast of the capital, Baghdad, on Thursday afternoon.
Iraqi Interior Ministry spokesman, Saad Maan, also said a car bomb in the same area targeted a security checkpoint shortly afterwards.
There were no immediate claims of responsibility for the deadly attacks, but such assaults bear the hallmarks of those carried out by ISIS Takfiri terrorists.
According to the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), a total of 125 Iraqi civilians lost their lives, and 188 others were injured as a result of terrorist attacks and other acts of violence across Iraq in August.
The UN mission, however, did not mention the number of Iraqi police forces, who were killed or sustained injuries during last month’s acts of violence.
A large number of the fatalities were recorded in the capital province of Baghdad, where 45 civilians were killed and 135 others wounded during the same period.
According to the UN figures, 36 people were killed and 18 injured in the northern province of Nineveh. Another four people lost their lives and 24 others suffered injuries in the central province of Salahuddin.
Iraqi army soldiers and pro-government fighters from the Popular Mobilization Units, commonly known by the Arabic name Hashd al-Sha’abi, are engaged in joint operations to win back militant-held areas of the country.
Iraq’s Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said on August 31 that the northern city of Tal Afar and the entire Nineveh province had been purged of ISIS Takfiri terrorist group.
The recapture of Tal Afar was made possible with the help of the Iraqi army, Federal Police, counter-terrorism units, volunteer troops, and Rapid Response Forces, Abadi added.
