Crime & Justice

Dozens killed, injured in twin suicide bomb blasts in central Baghdad

Baghdad, Jan 21 (efe-epa).- At least 28 people were killed after two suicide bombings hit a street market in central Baghdad, Iraq’s Joint Operations Command confirmed Thursday.

According to Iraqi television reports, the Joint Operations Command said that another 73 people were wounded in what was described by the authorities as a “terror attack.”

Spokesman for the Iraqi commander-in-chief Yehia Rasoul said on Twitter that two suicide bombers blew themselves up while they were being pursued by security forces in Bab al-Sharki area in the Iraqi capital.

A security source told Efe on the condition of anonymity that the death toll for the attack that was carried out by an “explosive belt and an improvised explosive device” could still increase, saying that some of the wounded were in critical condition.

Meanwhile, the Iraqi Health Ministry said in a statement that the security forces had imposed strict measures in the vicinity of the area while ambulances transfer victims to nearby hospitals.

The country’s President Barham Salih condemned the bombing, saying “We firmly stand against these rogue attempts to destabilize our country.”

The US-led international coalition to defeat the Islamic State terror organization sent its condolences to the victims of the attack.

“Another example of senseless violence destroying life. Our thoughts are with the victims of this attack, and their friends and families,” it tweeted.

This type of terror attacks used to be common in Baghdad in the past, especially during and after the United States’ invasion between 2003 and 2011. They were often claimed by the IS before its territorial defeat in the country in 2017.

In May 2019, a suicide bomber blew up his explosive belt in a popular market in the predominantly Shiite al-Sadr City neighborhood in eastern Baghdad, killing eight people and wounding 15 others. EFE-EPA

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