Death toll in the IS claimed Baghdad blast has gone upto 200, reports said on Monday. Two bombing incidents happened in the Iraqi capital, claimed by the Islamic State group that initially killed 91 including 15 children.
The bombings demonstrated the extremists’ ability to mount significant attacks despite major battlefield losses, including the city of Fallujah, which was declared “fully liberated” from IS just over a week ago.
The deadliest attack took place in the central Karada district of Baghdad, where a suicide bomber blew up his explosives-laded pickup truck outside a crowded shopping center, killing at least 86 people and wounding up to 170 others. The dead included 15 children, 10 women and six policemen.
The suicide bomber struck shortly after midnight, when families and young people were out on the streets after breaking their daylight fast for the holy month of Ramadan.
Most of the victims were inside a multi-story shopping and amusement mall, where dozens burned to death or suffocated.
Within hours, IS claimed responsibility for the bombing in a statement posted online, saying they had deliberately targeted Shiite Muslims, as per media reports. (Agencies)
