Twin market bombings target town northeast of Baghdad

Twin bombings at a market in a town northeast of Baghdad killed at least 10 people and wounded 20 others on Tuesday, security and medical officials said.

The 10:00 am (0700 GMT) blasts in Saadiyah came a day after a suicide bomb in the nearby town of Khanaqin killed 30 people, with Iraq due to hold its first parliamentary elections since 2010 on Wednesday.

Saadiyah lies in eastern Iraq, along a tract of disputed territory that the country’s autonomous Kurdish region wants to incorporate despite Baghdad’s objections.

Militants frequently capitalize on poor communication between Kurdish and Arab security forces in the disputed areas to launch attacks.

Iraq is embroiled in its worst protracted period of bloodshed in years, with nearly 3,000 people killed already this year.

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, who hails from Iraq’s Shiite Arab majority and is accused by critics of monopolizing power and targeting minority groups, is seeking a third term in Wednesday’s election.