Twin suicide bombings rock Baghdad, killing 32

BEIRUT — A pair of suicide bombers hit a crowded market in Baghdad on Thursday, Iraq’s civil defense agency said, killing at least 32 people, injuring more than 100 others and reigniting fears of a return to the days when such attacks were a daily occurrence in the

Iraqi capital.

The first of the bombers approached Tayaran Square, a major intersection in Baghdad’s downtown area near Bab Sharqi, an open-air market for used clothing and surplus military gear. Sometime before 10 a.m., the attacker pretended to be sick to draw people to him, then detonated his explosive-laden vest, according to officials and local media.

As onlookers rushed to help the casualties, the second suicide bomber blew himself up, leaving behind a trail of mangled corpses and blood-streaked piles of used clothing.

Yehia Rasool, spokesman for the Iraqi Ministry of Defense, tweeted in the attack’s aftermath that the bombers were being pursued by security forces when they detonated their vests.

Local media reported that security personnel deployed around the Green Zone — Baghdad’s heavily fortified government and diplomatic enclave — and sealed its main gate.

No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack. But the modus operandi — the use of vests, the wait for rescue workers and onlookers to gather before a second explosion — bore the hallmarks of the Islamic State terrorist group.

It was the first suicide attack to hit Baghdad since a January 2018 bombing that also targeted Tayaran Square. If it does prove to be the work of Islamic State, it would mark a major setback for Iraqi security forces in their fight against the group.