Death toll of Baghdad's twin market bombings rises

The death toll from the back-to-back market bombings carried out by the Islamic State group in eastern Baghdad on Sunday climbed to 62, Iraqi officials said.

MENA

2 min read

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29 February, 2016

Among the victims were ordinary Iraqis going about their daily lives [Getty]

The number of causalities resulting from attacks by Islamic State [IS] group in al-Sadr city in Baghdad increased to 160, Iraqi officials confirmed on Monday.

The initial death toll was recorded at 24 on Sunday, after a car bomb detonated in the crowded Mredi market in the majority Shia district of Sadr city.

Minutes later, a suicide bombing followed after a crowd gathered at the site to help the victims.

"The final death toll stood at 62 killed and 98 wounded," Colonel Hussein al-Darraji from the Police station in Sadr city told ��.

Several of the critically injured died overnight while 98 wounded remain in hospitals.

"The injured were split across three hospitals - the Canadian hospital, al-Hussein hospital and Ibin-Sina hospital," Darraji told ��.

Among the victims were children, women and elderly who were at the market
- Colonel Hussein al-Darraji

"Among the victims were children, women and elderly who were at the market, which is known for selling cheap goods," Darraji added. "They were ordinary Iraqis going about their daily lives."

At least five people were still missing.

Iraq's prime minister Haider al-Abadi urged security forces to "exert further efforts to prevent the terrorists from carrying out their crimes against innocent civilians."

The attacks "will not stop us... but they will increase the determination" of the Iraqi security forces to dislodge IS militants from areas under their control, Abadi said in a statement.

IS, which holds key areas in northern and western Iraq, claimed responsibility for the attacks.

The attacks included multiple suicide car bombings

The militant Sunni group targets mostly government forces, civilians and Shias who IS regards as heretics.

IS militants had also attempted an assault earlier on Sunday in the suburb of western Baghdad.

The attacks included multiple suicide car bombings on the Abu Ghraib district, killing at least 12 and wounding 35.

Reinforcements from Iraq's ground forces were sent out into the surrounding area to flush out pockets of IS fighters still remaining.

A local curfew was imposed but the army was "under control," the commander of military operations in western Baghdad, General Saad Harbiya said.

While attacks are still common in Baghdad, violence in the capital has decreased significantly since IS launched a sweeping offensive in June 2014, after which many of its militants became occupied with fighting in other areas.