32 killed as 2 suicide blasts rock Baghdad

Baghdad, Jan. 21: Twin suicide bombings ripped through a busy market in Baghdad on Thursday, killing at least 32 people and wounding dozens, officials said.

The rare suicide bombing attack hit the Bab alSharqi 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 alTamimi said at least 32 people were killed and 110 were wounded in the attack; some of the wounded were in serious condition. He said some of the wounded were in serious condition. Iraq’s military previously put the toll at 28.

The health ministry announced that all of its hospitals in the capital were mobilised to treat the wounded.