Two car bombs exploded in Baghdad late Monday night and a suicide bomber detonated in a town nearby, with a combined casualty total of 35 dead and more than 100 injured.
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Two car bombs and a suicide bomber killed at least 35 people in Baghdad and in a city to the west, and wounded more than 100 in Tuesday attacks targeting the late-night crowds typical of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, security sources said.
Islamic State, the Sunni hardline group that controls parts of Iraq and Syria, claimed all three attacks in statements on its Amaq news agency.
A car packed with explosives blew up near a popular ice cream shop in the commercial Karrada district, killing at least 13 people and wounding 40 just after midnight.
A few hours later, a second bombing killed 10 people and wounded 44 more near a government office in Karkh district.
And in the evening, a man detonated an explosive vest at an army check point in a commercial street of Hit, a Sunni town west of Baghdad, killing 12, including seven military members, and wounding at least 24.
During Ramadan many Muslims stay up until the early hours, going out to spend time with their families, shop and eat before dawn breaks and the next day’s fast begins.
How ISIS was able to get a couple of vehicles anywhere near a crowd in Baghdad is a mystery. The city is one of the most militarized places on earth with checkpoints every couple of blocks near the center of the city. Wouldn’t you think they’d have prevented any vehicle from coming within hundreds of yards of a crowded market?
If ISIS has found a vulnerability in Iraq’s security cordons, this will be only the beginning.
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