Iraq: Twin blasts rip through central Baghdad; 28 killed, 54 wounded

Baghdad: A pair of bomb blasts targeting a market in central Baghdad on Saturday killed at least 28 people and wounded at least 54, according to police and medical officials [caption id=“attachment_3182470” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. AFP[/caption] The attacks took place early this morning in al-Sinak, a busy market selling car accessories, food and clothes as well as agricultural seeds and machinery.

Details were sketchy in the immediate aftermath. Police at first said a pair of back-to-back roadside bombs exploded. Later a police official said first a roadside bomb exploded, then a suicide bomber detonated his device amid the crowd that had gathered. Finally police concluded that the carnage was the work of a pair of suicide bombers. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to release the information. No group has claimed responsibility for the blasts, but the Islamic State group has launched near-daily attacks in the capital in recent months. Iraq’s premier on 27 December had said that security forces would need another three months to eliminate the Islamic State group from the country after launching their offensive against IS in October. “The available data indicate that Iraq requires three months to eliminate Daesh,” Haider al-Abadi told a televised news conference, referring to the jihadist group by an Arabic acronym. Previously, he had vowed that the IS-occupied city of Mosul would be retaken “before the end of the year”, a goal that is no longer possible. The jihadist group overran large areas north and west of Baghdad in 2014, but Iraqi forces backed by US-led air strikes have since regained much of the territory originally lost to IS. With inputs from AFP