25 July,2016 08:17 AM IST | | Agencies
The terror group’s suicide bomber blows himself up near a Shiite area and kills at least 15 people
Baghdad: A suicide bombing claimed by the Islamic State group killed at least 15 people in a Shiite area of northern Baghdad yesterday, security and medical officials said. This happened after an ISIS suicide bomber struck shoppers in Baghdad's central Karrada district on July 3, killing 292 people.
A worker cleans the pavement at the bombing site yesterday near a checkpoint in Baghdad. Pic/AFP
The bombing, which struck near a checkpoint in the Kadhimiyah area, home to a major Shiite shrine, also wounded at least 29 people, the officials said.
ISIS issued a statement claiming the attack, saying it targeted soldiers and pro-government paramilitaries in the area. The jihadist group frequently carries out attacks on security forces, and also often targets members of Iraq's Shiite Muslim majority, whom it considers heretics.
The group also claimed an attack on a Shiite shrine in Balad, north of the capital, that left 40 dead a few days later.
ISIS overran large areas north and west of Baghdad in 2014, but Iraqi forces have since regained significant ground and are conducting operations to set the stage for the battle to recapture Mosul.
The jihadists have responded to the battlefield setbacks by striking civilians, and experts have warned there may be more such attacks.
