The group s news agency Amaq further said that the target was Shia Muslims.
A spokesman for Iraq s Joint Operations Command, Tahsin al-Khafaji, was quoted by
Deutsche Welleas saying, This is a terrorist act perpetrated by a sleeper cell of the Islamic State.
He added that it was an attempt by IS to prove its existence after suffering repeated military losses.
How did the bombings unfold?
On the morning of Jan. 21, the first suicide bomber headed into the market and claimed to be sick, which led to a crowd gathering around him.
The bomber then detonated an explosive belt, according to a statement by Iraq s Interior Ministry.
Jan 22, 2021
BAGHDAD (AP) Twin suicide bombings ripped through a busy market in the Iraqi capital on Thursday, killing at least 32 people and wounding dozens, officials said in what was the first massive bombing in years, harkening back to darker days of rampant militant attacks.
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 was splattered on the pavement of the busy market amid piles of clothes and shoes as survivors took stock of the disarray in the aftermath.
By sundown, crowds reappeared at the site of the deadly attack, carrying the coffins of the deceased in a show of defiance. Many questioned the timing of the attack, which occurred a day after President Joe Biden was sworn into office. The U.S.-led coalition recently ceased combat activities and is gradually drawing down its troop presence in Iraq, sparking fears of an IS resurgence.
32 killed in first major suicide attack in Baghdad in 3 years
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32 killed in first major suicide attack in Baghdad in 3 years
Agencies / Jan 22, 2021, 05:31 IST
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(AFP photo)
BAGHDAD: Two men blew themselves up in a crowded Baghdad market on Thursday, killing at least 32 people in Iraq’s first big suicide bombing in three years, authorities said, describing it as a possible sign of the reactivation of Islamic State terror group. Health authorities said at least 110 people had been wounded.
Major General Tahsin al-Khafaji, spokesman for the Joint Operations Command, which includes an array of Iraqi forces, said the first suicide bomber cried out loudly that he was ill in the middle of the bustling market, prompting a crowd to gather around him and that’s when he detonated his explosive belt. The second detonated his belt shortly after, he said. “Daesh terrorist groups might be standing behind the attacks,” civil defence chief Ma
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Back-to-back suicide attacks on a market in central Baghdad killed 32 people and injured 110 on Thursday.
The two bombers detonated their explosives at a secondhand clothes market in the
Bab Al Sharji area, said Interior Ministry spokesman Brig Gen Khalid Al Muhana. He said many poor people use the outdoor market.
The first bomber claimed to be ill but when people gathered around him, he blew himself up, Brig Gen Al Muhana said. The second bomber set off his explosives when people rushed to the scene.
Health Minister Hassan Al Tamimi confirmed the death toll.
ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack in a message posted on the Telegram channel of its Amaq news agency early on Friday.