PM Barzani condemns ‘heinous’ Baghdad market attack

Iraqis inspect the site of the explosion in a popular market in the mostly Shia neighborhood of Sadr City, east of Baghdad, July 19, 2021. (Photo: Ahmad al-Rubaye/AFP)
Iraqis inspect the site of the explosion in a popular market in the mostly Shia neighborhood of Sadr City, east of Baghdad, July 19, 2021. (Photo: Ahmad al-Rubaye/AFP)

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani condemned the deadly bombing at a crowded Baghdad market on the eve of the Islamic festival Eid al Adha that was claimed by ISIS.

A suicide bomber detonated himself inside the crowded market in Baghdad’s eastern Sadr City on Monday afternoon.

“I’m saddened by the heinous attack in Sadr City on the eve of Eid al-Adha tonight,” Barzani tweeted on Monday night.

He added that the attack was a “a sobering reminder of the continued threat terrorism poses to all of Iraq and its peoples, and the need for closer coordination,” between Erbil and Baghdad’s security forces.

Early on Tuesday, ISIS claimed responsibility for the blast through its Telegram channel.

The attack comes just days after the Kurdistan Region Security Council released confessions of ISIS suspects who said they had planned to carry out a suicide bombing inside the Kurdish capital Erbil ahead of the Eid celebrations.