Iraq Car Bombings Leave At Least 31 People Dead
Samawah, Iraq, saw two car bombings on Sunday, which left at least 31 people dead and many more injured.
The two car bombings on Sunday were set up to explode within minutes of each other at about noon in the southern Iraqi city of Samawah, according to the Independent.
The first of the two car bombings happened in a parked car outside of government offices. As people were left reeling, wounded, or dead, the second explosion rocked an open-air bus station about 65 yards away only minutes later.
The second explosion caused more panic, destruction, and death to the people in the town.
The Iraq car bombings were quickly claimed by the so-called Islamic State through an online statement. The terror group said it was targeting police in Iraq through its use of suicide bombers, according to the Associated Press.
The aftermath of the car bombings left smoke, rubble, and lots of victims. Police and firefighters rushed to save people, including children, from the wreckage using stretchers and by carrying the victims away with their arms.
Firefighters tried to kill flames that were consuming severely damaged cars and threatening to spread. Several buildings were damaged in the car bombings.
At least 31 people were declared dead, but the death toll is expected to rise. Another 75 or more have been injured because of the car bombings.
An attack from the Islamic State in the southern part of Iraq is not common. Most of the Islamic State operates in the northern and western parts of Iraq, where a majority of Sunni Muslims are located. In the southern part of Iraq, including Samawah, the majority of Muslims are Shia.
Experts and Iraqi security officials believe the Islamic State is adopting insurgent-style attacks in Baghdad and other parts of Iraq since it has lost about 40 percent of its strongholds in Iraq after numerous defeats in battle.
Lately, the Islamic State has claimed responsibility for targeting Shia pilgrims as recently as Saturday, when a bombing in Baghdad killed at least 21 people and wounded around 42 other people.
Shia pilgrims were walking to a holy shrine in Kadhimiya, a suburb of Baghdad, when they were attacked by the car bomb. The pilgrimage is to the 8th century Imam Moussa al-Kadhim in order to commemorate the anniversary of his death.
Thousands more people are expected to make the pilgrimage across Iraq to visit the site of the shrine, despite the growing violence in Iraq.
A large state of unrest has occurred in Baghdad, Iraq, where many supporters of the Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr captured Iraq’s parliament building, in an attempt to demonstrate against a government stalemate.
In the meantime, a state of emergency was declared in Baghdad as the dangerous situation continued, and entrances to the capital city of Iraq were shut down as a “precautionary measure,” according to security officials.
As for the Iraq car bombings in Samawah, Iraq, they will likely lead to a higher death toll once more debris from the bombings is cleared out and bodies are found beneath the rubble.
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