Suicide car bomb driven by ISIS kills 39, and wounding 57 people in busy market place in Baghdad
A suicide car bomb driven by ISIL fighters killed at least 39 people and wounded 57 in an attack on a busy square in Baghdad’s sprawling Sadr City district.
The bomber driving a pickup truck struck an outdoor fruit and vegetable market, hitting daily labourers and a police checkpoint, a police officer said.
The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) took responsibility for the blast via its Amaq website, claiming the “martyrdom operation” had killed around 40 people.
Baghdad has been the focus of renewed violence over the past few weeks.
ISIL also claimed an attack in central Baghdad that killed at least 27 people on Saturday.
US-backed Iraqi forces are currently fighting to push ISIL fighters from the northern city of Mosul, the armed group’s last major stronghold in the country, but are facing fierce resistance.
Since the offensive began on October 17, Iraqi forces have retaken a quarter of the city in the biggest ground operation in Iraq since the 2003 US-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein.
As clashes continued in and around Mosul, ISIL – which took the city in 2014 – also targeted on Monday military positions away from the main battlefield.
Fighters attacked an army barracks near Baiji, 180km north of Baghdad, killing four soldiers and wounding 12 people, including Sunni tribal fighters, army and police sources said.
Source: /The Breaking Times
