The first incident occurred in a central market where a suicide bomber detonated his deadly charge, taking at least 22 lives along with his own, Iraqi media reported. More than 50 other citizens were injured, some of them gravely, as scores of ambulances and security forces were seen heading towards the blast site.

Later in the afternoon, a Shiite mosque was targeted by a fierce blast who left behind at least 25 dead persons and more than 75 injured. Shiite officials informed that the explosive device “went off while worshippers were leaving the mosque.”

The attack could be tied to a similar one that took place Monday in central Baghdad, when a bomb exploded near a Sunni mosque, leaving dozens of casualties behind. This indicates Tuesday bombing could be a revenge act, as the sectarian violence between Sunni and Shiite factions has reached its apogee this year, with Iraqi and foreign troops desperately trying to prevent and stop terrorist acts.

In other developments, the US military reported the death of eight US servicemen, which were killed by a roadside bomb, respectively a helicopter crash in the embattled Diyala province.