Baghdad:
The Islamic State group claimed duty for a twin suicide bombing that killed 32 persons and wounded 110 at a crowded market place in central Baghdad on Thursday.
It was the deadliest attack on the city in 3 years, when a different suicide bomber targeted the very same region.
The very first attacker drew a crowd at the bustling market place in the capital’s Tayaran Square by claiming to really feel sick, then detonated his explosives belt, the interior ministry stated.
As more persons then flocked to the scene to assistance the victims, a second suicide bomber set off his explosives.
The open-air market place, exactly where second-hand clothing are sold at stalls, had been teeming with persons following the lifting of practically a year of Covid-19 restrictions across the nation.
An AFP photographer at the scene stated safety forces had cordoned off the region, exactly where blood-soaked clothing had been strewn across the muddy streets and paramedics had been rushing to take away the casualties.
The overall health ministry stated these who lost their lives had died on the scene of the attack, and that most of the wounded had been treated and released from hospital.
After midnight, ISIS posted a claim of duty for the attack on its on the internet propaganda channels.
Such violence was commonplace in Baghdad through the sectarian bloodletting that followed the US-led invasion of 2003 and later on as IS swept across substantially of Iraq and also targeted the capital.
But with the group’s territorial defeat in late 2017, suicide bombings in the city became uncommon. Baghdad’s concrete blast walls had been dismantled and checkpoints across the city removed.
– ‘Senseless and barbaric’ –
President Barham Saleh led political figures in condemning Thursday’s attack, saying the government would “stand firmly against these rogue attempts to destabilise our country”.
Pope Francis, who hopes to check out Iraq in March, deplored the “senseless act of brutality”.
The United States, the United Nations and the European Union strongly condemned the attack.
US acting secretary of state Daniel Smith stated the bombings “were vicious acts of mass murder and a sobering reminder of the terrorism that continues to threaten the lives of innocent Iraqis”.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres issued an appeal “to the people of Iraq to reject any attempts to spread fear and violence aimed at undermining peace, stability and unity.”
The EU known as the attack “senseless and barbaric” and reiterated its “full support to the Iraqi authorities in the fight against extremism and terrorism.”
The UN’s Iraq mission presented condolences to the victims and stated: “Such a despicable act will not weaken Iraq’s march towards stability and prosperity.”
Iran also denounced the attack, with foreign ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh saying his government was prepared to help Iraq “in the struggle against terrorism and extremism”.
The attack, he stated, was meant “to disrupt the peace and stability of Iraq and to provide a pretext for foreigners to maintain their presence there”.
– Elections looming –
The attack comes as Iraqis prepare for an election, events normally preceded by bombings and assassinations.
The 2018 attack took spot just a couple of months prior to Iraq’s final round of parliamentary elections.
Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhemi had initially set this year’s common election for June, practically a year ahead of schedule, in response to widespread protests in 2019.
But authorities are in talks more than rescheduling them to October, to give electoral authorities more time to register voters and new parties.
The IS seized a third of Iraq in 2014 and was dangerously close to the capital, but a ferocious 3-year fight by Iraqi troops pushed them back.
Still, the group’s sleeper cells have continued to operate in desert and mountain regions, generally targeting safety forces or state infrastructure with low casualty attacks.
The US-led coalition that had been supporting Iraq’s campaign against IS has drastically drawn down its troop levels more than the previous year, citing the improved capabilities of Iraqi forces.
The United States, which supplies the bulk of the force, has 2,500 troops left in Iraq — down from 5,200 a year ago.
They are mostly in charge of instruction, supplying drone surveillance and carrying out air strikes although Iraqi safety forces deal with safety in urban regions.
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