Blasts leave scores dead in Baghdad, Kirkuk

A car bomb blast in Iraq’s northern Kirkuk province has killed at least 18 people, according to security officials, while two separate, deadly attacks shook the capital, Baghdad.

Colonel Adil Zainal Abidin, security director in Kirkuk, said an explosive-laden car blew up in front of Salah teashop in the Kurdish neighbourhood of Shorija on Thursday.

At least 22 people, including two children, were also injured.

"We fear that the casualties will rise," Abidin told Anadolu news agency.

According to health officials, the injured suffered severe burns and the blast damaged nearby workplaces and vehicles.

Security forces closed traffic around the scene and launched an investigation into the explosion. 

In Baghdad, separate explosions killed at least 13 people and injured 22 others, Iraqi security sources also reported.

A bomb exploded in a market in the Shia As-Sadr neighbourhood, while another car bomb was set off on al-Urzde Street, in the same area.

To date, no group has claimed responsibility for the deadly attacks. 

Iraq has been gripped by a surge in violence since June, when the Islamic State group took over Mosul, the country’s second-largest city, and strengthened its control over vast swathes of territory.

A US-led international coalition is carrying out air strikes against IS in northern Iraq and Syria.