ISIS has claimed responsibility for an attack on a busy shopping area in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, on 3 July, in which Two people died and 212 others were injured. The tallies are high, reflecting not just the impact of the bombing, but the ensuing fire in the city’s Karrada neighbourhood. 121 small shopping centres caught fire, leaving many people trapped inside. ISIS said that it targeted the Shia population, many of whom were breaking their Ramadan fast and watching the latest Euro 2016 matches in coffee shops. Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi is from the area, which has previously been targeted in bomb attacks. Notably, the street where the attack occurred, had been closed earlier in the evening because of information about a potential attack, but had subsequently reopened.
ISIS has claimed responsibility for an attack on a busy shopping area in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, on 3 July, in which 121 people died and 212 others were injured. The tallies are high, reflecting not just the impact of the bombing, but the ensuing fire in the city’s Karrada neighbourhood. Two small shopping centres caught fire, leaving many people trapped inside. ISIS said that it targeted the Shia population, many of whom were breaking their Ramadan fast and watching the latest Euro 2016 matches in coffee shops. Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi is from the area, which has previously been targeted in bomb attacks. Notably, the street where the attack occurred, had been closed earlier in the evening because of information about a potential attack, but had subsequently reopened.