Baghdad, July 25 (RHC)-- At least 21 people have been killed in two car bomb attacks in the Iraqi capital Baghdad shortly after Iraqi lawmakers elected the country's new president.  Iraqi police and hospital officials said on Thursday that the bombs exploded just seconds apart near a restaurant in the Karrada district, which is a busy area in the central part of Baghdad.
 
The Iraqi officials further noted that around 33 people suffered injuries in the deadly attack.  The bombs reportedly went off shortly after the time when people had gathered to break the dawn-to-dusk fast observed during the holy month of Ramadan.
 
The crisis in Iraq escalated after the ISIL terrorists took control of Mosul in a lightning advance on June 10th, which was followed by the fall of Tikrit, located 140 kilometers northwest of the capital.
 
The Iraqi army, backed by tribal forces and volunteers, has been engaged in heavy fighting with the militants on different fronts and has so far been able to push back militants in several areas, including in Tikrit.