Twin blasts kill scores in Baghdad ahead of Eid al-Adha

Two simultaneous car bombs in Baghdad killed at least nine people and injured 14 on Sunday morning, according to Iraqi police.

"A car rigged to explode was detonated in the Abu Dsheer district of Baghdad, killing at least four and injuring seven others," an Iraqi police officer told The New Arab.

A second simultaneous explosion in the fourth police zone in southern Baghdad killed at least five others and injured seven more, he added. The death toll is likely to rise.

Police have established cordons and roadblocks around the blast areas, and are looking for a third car bomb in Abu Dsheer, the officer said.

The blasts occurred as Iraqi authorities are preparing to implement the so-called "Eid Plan" to protect Baghdad from terror attacks during the Muslim holiday, according to a source in the Baghdad Operations Command.

"The plan has not been implemented yet, and is set to launch three days before Eid al-Adha holiday, to protect markets and public parks through mobile checkpoints," the source said.

Previous attempts to establish such "walls" have had mixed results.

Violence and armed conflicts left more than 500 Iraqis dead and wounded last month, according to a monthly count by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq which excludes deaths of security personnel.

"A total of 241 Iraqi civilians were killed and another 277 injured in acts of terrorism, violence and armed conflict in Iraq in July," the UNAMI report said, noting that the security personnel casualties were excluded from the figures.

Baghdad was the second most affected province with 38 killed and 85 injured.

Baghdad has seen almost daily bombings and armed attacks against security members, paramilitary groups and civilians since the Iraqi government launched a wide-scale campaign to retake areas occupied by Islamic State group in 2016.