Two bombings claimed by the so-called ’Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant’ (ISIL) takfiri group struck an area of northern Baghdad on Sunday, killing at least 22 people.

Two bombings claimed by the so-called 'Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant' (ISIL) takfiri group struck an area of northern Baghdad on Sunday, killing at least 22 people, security and medical officials said.

The blasts near a market in the Sadr City area, at least one of which was a suicide bombing, also wounded at least 59 people, the officials said.

The bombings were the deadliest attacks to hit Iraq's capital this year.

ISIL, which occupied swathes of territory north and west of Baghdad in 2014, claimed the attacks in a statement posted online that said two suicide bombers had detonated explosive belts in Sadr City.

Suicide bombings are a tactic almost exclusively used in Iraq by ISIL. The terrorist group claimed twin suicide bombings targeting worshippers on Thursday in Shuala neighborhood in Baghdad, that killed at least nine people.

While attacks are still common in Baghdad, violence in the city has decreased significantly since the Iraqi army launched a sweeping offensive on ISIL and other takfiri groups operating in the country.