BAGHDAD (AP) – Twin suicide bombings tore through a crowded market in the Iraqi capital on Thursday, killing at least 32 people and injuring dozens, officials said.
The rare suicide bombing hit the Bab al-Sharqi commercial area in central Baghdad amid heightened political tensions over planned early elections and a severe economic crisis. Blood spattered the pavement of the bustling market amid piles of clothes and shoes as survivors took stock of the disarray in the aftermath.
No one immediately took responsibility for the attack, but Iraqi military officials said it was the work of the Islamic State group.
Iraqi Health Minister Hassan Mohammed al-Tamimi said the attack killed at least 32 people and injured 110. He said some of the injured were in serious condition. The Iraqi army previously estimated the number of dead at 28.
The Ministry of Health announced that all its hospitals in the capital had been mobilized to treat the injured.
Major General Tahsin al-Khafaji, spokesman for the Joint Operations Command, which includes a range of Iraqi armed forces, said the first suicide bomber shouted out loud in the middle of the crowded marketplace, causing a crowd to gather. him – and then he detonated his explosives belt. The second detonated his belt shortly afterwards, he said.
“This is a terrorist act committed by an Islamic State sleeping cell,” said al-Khafaji. He said ISIS wanted to “prove its existence” after suffering many blows in military operations to exterminate the militants.
In the Vatican, Pope Francis condemned the attack in Baghdad as a “senseless act of cruelty” and urged Iraqis to continue to work to replace violence with brotherhood and peace. The telegram of condolences to the Iraqi president was particularly sincere, as Francis will visit Iraq in early March to try to encourage the country’s Christian communities devastated by IS persecution.
Thursday’s double suicide bombings were the first in three years targeting Baghdad’s bustling commercial area. A suicide attack took place in the same area in 2018, shortly after then-Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi declared victory over the Islamic State group, a Sunni militant group.
In Iraq, attacks have been carried out in recent months by both the Islamic State group and mainly Shia militias. Militias have routinely attacked the US presence in Iraq with rocket and mortar attacks, especially the US Embassy in Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone. However, the pace of those attacks has slowed since an informal truce was declared in October by Iranian-backed armed groups.
The style of Thursday’s attack was similar to that of IS in the past. But the group has rarely managed to penetrate the capital since it was ousted in 2017 by Iraqi forces and the US-led coalition.
IS has shown its ability to carry out increasingly sophisticated attacks in northern Iraq, where it still remains, three years after Iraq declared victory over the group.
Iraqi security forces are regularly ambushed and attacked with IEDs in rural areas of Kirkuk and Diyala. Last summer, there was an increase in attacks as militants took advantage of the government’s focus on tackling the coronavirus pandemic.
Thursday’s double bombings came days after the Iraqi government unanimously approved early elections in October. Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi had announced in July that early polls would be held to meet the demands of anti-government protesters.
Protesters took to the streets in their tens of thousands last year to demand political change and an end to rampant corruption and poor services. More than 500 people died in mass demonstrations when security forces used live rounds and tear gas to disperse crowds.
Iraq is also facing a severe economic crisis caused by the low oil prices that have prompted the government to borrow internally and risk depleting its foreign exchange reserves. The Central Bank of Iraq devalued the Iraqi dinar by nearly 20% last year to meet its spending commitments.
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Associated Press writer Murtada Faraj in Baghdad contributed to this report.