Several killed, injured in twin bombing of Shia neighborhood in Baghdad: reports

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – A twin explosion rocked a place of worship in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, with varying reports on the number of casualties ranging from five to over twenty.

The incident occurred in Hussainiya, a place dedicated to special ceremonies for Shia Muslims, in the southwestern neighborhood of Ma’alef. Other details were not immediately clear.

One security source told Alsumaria that the first of the two blasts was due to an improvised explosive device (IED) and the other was a suicide vest. The agency also reported that one person had been killed and four more had been injured.

However, Baghdad Today wrote that both explosions were from suicide vests and said that initial casualties were two deaths and twenty people injured

on Monday, the Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attacks. Health officials also reportedly put the number of casualties at five dead and 17 wounded.

Another media outlet, Shafaaq news, reported that same day that there was a third explosion which was caused by a vehicle-borne explosive, north of Baghdad. This incident “killed one person and injured a number” of others.

The report added that in a separate incident, local security forces dismantled an IED that was onboard a taxi in southeast Baghdad without causing any harm.

The successful and attempted bombings appear to be coordinated in nature as similar attacks have occurred in the city.

In November, a series of five separate explosions rocked different parts of Baghdad within a few-hour window of each other. Initial reports then indicated that seven civilians were killed, and 14 others were wounded.

On May 9, a deadly suicide bombing in the capital’s Sadr city claimed the lives of at least eight people and wounded another 15.

Although Iraq declared the military defeat of the Islamic State in December 2017, the terrorist group continues to carry out insurgency-style attacks in formerly liberated areas like Mosul, which it once declared its de-facto capital and even places it never controlled like the nation’s capital of Baghdad.

Editing by Nadia Riva