BAGHDAD BOMBINGS

At least 125 dead and 150 injured after ISIS car blast at shopping centre

The car bomb ripped through the marketplace killing scores of people and setting fire to nearby buildings

ISIS has claimed for responsibility for a deadly car bomb attack that ripped through a Baghdad marketplace killing 125 people.

The explosives - hidden inside a refrigerator truck - struck Karada, a busy shopping district in the center of Baghdad, killing scores and wounding at least another 150.

Advertisement
At least 125 people were killed when the car bomb destroyed a popular marketCredit: Reuters
ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it was targeting Shiite MuslimsCredit: Reuters
The bomber detonated the explosives when the market was full after Ramadan fasting had endedCredit: EPA
Crowds gather in the destroyed area today where bodies were still being clearedCredit: Reuters

It struck as families and young people were out on the streets after breaking their daylight fast for the holy month of Ramadan.

ISIS - a group claiming adherence to the Sunni branch of Islam - claimed responsibility online, saying it had deliberately targeted Shiites.

related stories

cages of death
Chilling images reveal the hellhole prisons where ISIS captives were BURNED ALIVE as the jihadis fled Fallujah
HOSTAGE DRAMA
ISIS release gloating pictures of Bangladesh terror siege victims as its revealed all 20 killed were foreigners
FREED TO KILL
ISIS mastermind of Istanbul massacre 'dodged extradition to Russia because it breached HUMAN RIGHTS'
STALKING HIS PREY
CCTV shows Istanbul gunman hunting his victims... then smashing gun when he can't find them

At dawn today fire fighters were still working to extinguish the blazes and bodies were still being recovered from charred buildings.

An eyewitness said the explosion caused fires at nearby clothing and cellphone shops.

Advertisement

The Baghdad attack - along with a second, much smaller and separate bombing yesterday, come just over a week after Iraqi forces declared the city of Fallujah "fully liberated" from ISIS.

Over the past year, they have racked up territorial gains against ISIS, retaking the city of Ramadi and the towns of Hit and Rutba, all in Iraq's vast Anbar province west of Baghdad.

But despite the government's battlefield victories, ISIS has repeatedly shown it remains capable of launching attacks far from the front-lines.

Reporters at the scene said many of those killed in the blast were childrenCredit: Reuters
Advertisement
The attack occurred just a week after Iraq declared Fallujah "fully liberated" from ISISCredit: Reuters
The blast killed dozens and set fire to buildings surrounding the marketCredit: Reuters
Locals and emergency services gather at the scene of the bombing this morningCredit: Reuters

ISIS still controls Iraq's second largest city of Mosul as well as significant patches of territory in the country's north and west.

Advertisement

At the height of the extremist group's power in 2014, ISIS rendered nearly a third of the country out of government control. Now, the militants are estimated to control only 14 percent of Iraqi territory, the government claims.

The attacks also come just a day after ISIS jihadis killed at least 20 foreigners at a restaurant in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

The militants, most of whom were killed in an ensuing police raid, stabbed to death hostages who could not recite verses from the Koran, it was claimed.

The car was packed with explosives when it was detonated inside the popular marketplaceCredit: EPA
Advertisement
A man makes his way through the charred rubble following the bombingCredit: Reuters
ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack. Shiite Muslims living in Baghdad are frequently targeted by the jihadisCredit: EPA
Topics
Advertisement
machibet777.com