Justice

We Cannot Ignore the Terrorist Attack in Baghdad

July 3rd 2016

At least 125 people were killed and about 150 people were injured in two blasts late Saturday in a crowded area in Baghdad, Iraq. The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the bombings, which occurred after sundown, in a commercial district where people went to shop and eat after a day of fasting at the end of the holy month of Ramadan. 

The first attack came from a refrigerator van packed with explosives, which went off in the central Karrada district, a primarily Shia Muslim neighborhood. As of Sunday morning, firefighters were still working to put out flames at the explosion site and bodies were still being recovered from ruined buildings, according The Associated Press.

A second blast also occurred later the same evening in eastern Baghdad, as an improvised explosive device went off killing five people and injuring 16 others. Similar to the first attack, the second explosion was also in a majority Shia area.

The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for one of the explosions, posting a statement on a militant website. No group has yet taken responsibility for the second attack.

The initial bombing is the deadliest in Iraq this year. It comes just one week after Iraqi security forces had recaptured the city of Falluja from Islamic State fighters, and one day after ISIS claimed responsibility for an attack in Bangladesh that left 20 people dead, the New York Times reports.

Just last week, three explosions and gunfire rocked the Istanbul Ataturk airport in Istanbul, Turkey. Forty-four people were killed in the attack and more than 200 were injured.

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