Kurdish counterterrorism forces arrest suspect in deadly Baghdad bombing

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Kurdistan Region’s General Directorate of Counter Terrorism (CTD) announced on Sunday the arrest of a suspect in a recent bombing that took place in the Iraqi capital's Sadr City neighborhood, killing and wounding dozens of civilians.

The incident occurred on July 19th, when a suicide bomber detonated their explosive vest in the sprawling, densely-packed al-Wahailat market in Baghdad's Sadr City. The attack reportedly left at least 35 civilians dead and wounded several others.

Read More: At least 35 people killed and wounded in market explosion in Baghdad's Sadr City: Sources

A CTD statement said that "the security services in the federal government requested assistance from the Kurdistan Regional Government to arrest one of the participants in that crime."

The federal forces provided the CTD the name of a wanted man who allegedly worked with a group of terrorists who planned and executed the bombing, the CTD explained.

The Kurdish forces handed over the detainee to federal security forces, the statement added.

Claiming responsibility for the attack, ISIS said on its official Telegram channel early Tuesday that a man identified as Abu Hamza al-Iraqi blew himself up in the busy market the night before as people were shopping on the eve of the Eid al-Adha holiday.

The main market in heavily populated Shia-majority Sadr City is a frequent target for terrorist attacks. In addition to Monday’s blast, the popular Baghdad neighborhood has witnessed three other bloody bombings since ISIS was declared defeated in Iraq. More than 20 people were killed and wounded in the last attack, a deadly twin suicide bombing at a market in April.