Twin suicide bombings rock Baghdad, 32 dead

Twin suicide bombings ripped through a busy market in the Iraqi capital on Thursday, killing at least 32 people and wounding dozens, officials said. The rare suicide bombing attack hit the Bab al-sharqi commercial area in central Baghdad amid heightened political tensions over planned early elections and a severe economic crisis. Blood smeared the floors of the busy market amid piles of clothes and shoes as survivors took stock of the disarray in the aftermath. No one immediately took responsibility for the attack, but Iraqi military officials said it was the work of the Islamic State group. Iraq’s health minister Hassan Mohammed al-tamimi said at least 32 people were killed and 110 others were wounded in the attack. He said some of the wounded were in a serious condition. Iraq’s military previously put the number of dead at 28. The health ministry announced that all of its hospitals in the capital were mobilised to treat the wounded.