Deadliest attack in a year kills 115 in central Baghdad
BAGHDAD — A devastating truck bombing on a bustling commercial street in downtown Baghdad that killed 115 people early yesterday was claimed by the Islamic State, suggesting the terrorist group maintains the ability to strike the capital despite a string of battlefield losses elsewhere in the country.
It was the deadliest terror attack in Iraq in a year and one of the worst single bombings in more than a decade of war and insurgency, and it fueled anger toward Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi.
When al-Abadi visited the site of the suicide blast in the city’s Karada district, a furious mob surrounded his convoy, yelling expletives, hurling rocks and shoes and calling him a “thief.”
Many Iraqis blame their political leadership for lapses in security in Baghdad that have allowed large amounts of explosives to make their way past multiple checkpoints and into neighborhoods packed with civilians.
The Islamic State swiftly claimed responsibility in a statement posted online, saying the organization had targeted Shiites.
The authenticity of the statement could not be immediately verified.
Iraqi forces, supported by U.S.led coalition airstrikes, have secured a string of victories against the Islamic State over the past year and a half, retaking the cities of Tikrit, Ramadi and Fallujah, which was declared fully liberated from the extremist group just over a week ago.
But the Islamic State has repeatedly demonstrated the ability to carry out large-scale operations in territory removed from the frontline fighting.