At Least 20 Killed in Two Car Bombings in Baghdad

Two car bombings in central Baghdad streets on Tuesday left at least 20 dead and 80 wounded.

Around noon on Tuesday, June 9th, a car exploded near a government office in central Baghdad’s Karakh district, killing seven and wounding 38.

Hours before this, the Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the first car bombing in Baghdad, which killed at least 13 and wounded 24. This explosion occurred in the early morning hours of Tuesday.

The blast, which occurred on the third day of Ramadan, targeted the “Al-Faqama” juice shop, a large non-alcoholic beverage, juice, and food retail complex in the busy “Al-Karada” neighborhood.

Iraqi security forces immediately secured the scene and surrounding streets.

The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack through a statement published on its website under the heading “Al-Amaq,” stating that the operation was carried out against Shiites.

This is the second time the Islamic State group has targeted Al-Karada, a densely populated Shiite neighborhood in Baghdad, with suicide attacks during Ramadan.

Last July, a bombing in the same area killed at least 324 people, marking the deadliest attack in Iraq since the United States invasion in 2003.

Tuesday’s bombing came after Iranian-backed Shiite forces, known as the “Popular Mobilization,” pushed back Islamic State fighters from a border village on the Iraq-Syria border.

Iraqi militias and the Syrian army are reportedly attempting to link up in border areas.

Ahmad Al-Asadi, a spokesman for the “Popular Mobilization” (Hashd Al-Shaabi), said capturing this border point is “the first step toward liberating the entire [Iraq-Syria] border.”

According to reports, Iraqi Shiite militias and the Syrian army, which also enjoys Iranian support, intend to connect with each other in the border areas between the two countries. It is said that establishing contact between the two sides at the border will provide Bashar Assad and his supporting forces in Syria’s civil war with greater advantage.

Source: Radio Farda