Iraqi military officials have announced that at least 13 people have been killed and 30 others injured in a twin suicide bombing at a crowded commercial area in Iraq’s capital, Baghdad.
Brigadier General Hazem al-Azzawi, the Director of Baghdad Operations Command, said that the “double explosion” occurred as the bombers blew themselves up at a clothing market in Tayaran Square, in Bab al-Sharqi.
Military spokesman Yahya Rasool added that the two suicide bombers detonated their explosives as they were being pursued by security forces.
The first bomber entered the marketplace and, pretending to be sick, asked for help, causing people to gather around him before he blew himself up, according to officials. The second bomber then drove to the scene on a motorbike before detonating his explosive vest.
Medical officials have told reporters that they fear the death toll could be twice as high as officially announced, adding that the death toll could rise as some wounded people were in a critical condition.
The health ministry said it had mobilised medics across the capital to respond to the deadly attack. Security forces across the capital were also mobilized to respond to the deadly attack.
The attack marks the first deadly suicide attack in the city since January 2018. After years of deadly sectarian violence following the 2003 US invasion, suicide bombings have become relatively rare in the capital.
Militias have routinely targeted the US presence with rocket and mortar attacks, especially the US embassy in the heavily fortified Green Zone. The pace of those attacks had however decreased since an informal truce was declared by Iran-backed armed groups in October 2020. The militarized Green Zone area of the city closed following the attacks.
No group claimed the attack immediately, but suicide attacks have mostly been used by ISIL (ISIS).
Iraq declared ISIL defeated at the end of 2017 after a fierce three-year campaign. But the group’s sleeper cells have continued to operate in desert and mountain areas, typically targeting security forces or state infrastructure with low-casualty attacks.
“This kind of attacks bears the hallmark of IS who have targeted crowded civilian areas in Baghdad with suicide attacks many times in the past,” said Sajad Jiyad, an Iraqi Security analyst and fellow at The Century Foundation think-tank.
“This shows a security failure by the government who have been warned that IS is still active and in recent days have seen it target infrastructure and rural areas with similar attacks,”
The suicide attack comes amid anti-government protests in Iraq’s Shia-dominated south and after a deadly government crackdown on demonstrators in Baghdad.
Earlier this month, a policeman was killed and dozens of people injured in clashes between security forces and anti-government protesters in southern Iraq.
The violence erupted in Haboubi Square in the city of Nasiriya after the arrest of activists in Dhi Qar province
Witnesses said security forces opened fire to disperse demonstrators – including some throwing stones. Dozens of protesters torched car tyres and blocked a main road in the city, witnesses said.
Officials said at least 18 protesters were injured and more than 40 were hurt among security forces.
