Double suicide bombing in Baghdad kills 38

BAGHDAD (AP) — Two suicide bombers blew themselves up at a busy street market in central Baghdad yesterday, in back-to-back explosions that killed at least 38 people, Iraqi health and police officials said.

The attackers struck during rush hour in the city’s Tayran Square, which is usually crowded by laborers seeking work. The twin explosions also wounded at least 105 people, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to talk to the media.

Earlier reports by spokesmen from the Health Ministry and the Interior Ministry had 26 killed and at least 16 dead, respectively, and dozens wounded.

Ambulances rushed to the scene as security forces sealed off the area with yellow tape. Slippers could be seen scattered about on the bloodstained pavement as cleaners hurried to clear the debris. Photographs posted on social media showed lifeless bodies and pieces of limbs.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack but it bore all the hallmarks of the Islamic State group.

The explosions shocked residents in Baghdad because large attacks had decreased significantly in the city since security forces retook all territory once held by IS militants.

Iraqi officials have warned that the IS group would continue with insurgent-style attacks even after the Iraqi military and US-led coalition succeeded in uprooting the IS group across the country.

The cost of victory has been nearly incalculable as the three years of war against IS devastated much of northern and western Iraq — roughly a third of the country — where IS militants had held most of the territory.