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Bombs Blast Baghdad Leaving Over 100 Dead During Ramadan Shopping As ISIS Takes Responsibility

By Jinger Jarrett
Published on: 06:28 PST, Jul 3, 2016

Iraqi police said that ISIS claimed credit for the bombs blast in Baghdad that claimed the lives of at least 125 people and injured at least 150 more. The massive explosions took place in some of the most heavily populated parts of the city.

The BBC reported that the car bomb exploded in the Karrada district. Many shoppers, primarily Shia, were out that night because it’s the month of Ramadan. Iraqi PM Haider al-Abadi declared three days of mourning after visiting the site of the explosion. He had been greeted earlier by angry crowds at the scene. Many of those killed in the bombs blast in Baghdad were children.

Another bomb exploded in the northern part of the city around midnight. It killed an additional five people. An Iraqi official said that the death toll could rise even higher while the White House released a statement showing its support for the Iraqi people.

“We remain united with the Iraqi people and government in our combined efforts to destroy Isil.”

Speculation is that ISIS is showing that it will strike back in spite of any defeats it may suffer. ISIS was later beaten at Fallujah by Iraqi forces after ISIS took control of the city in 2014. Fallujah is less than an hour’s drive from Baghdad. With Ramadan in full swing, the streets of Baghdad were full of people who were celebrating after fasting during the day.

Fox News reported that at least 115 people were killed while at least 160 were wounded in the bombs blast in Baghdad. Many were celebrating because it was the end of Ramadan. It was considered the deadliest attack in months in the capital city. The dead included 15 children, 10 women and six policemen. An additional 12 people were still listed as missing, and they were feared dead.

Karada, where the bombing took place, is a major commercial center in Baghdad, and it offered many jewelry and clothing shops. Most of the victims who lost their lives were inside of a shopping and amusement mall in the district. Many of the victims were either burned to death or suffocated.

Karim Sami, a 35-year-old street vendor and father of three, lost one of his friends in the blast with another missing and another wounded. He described the blast as sounding like an earthquake.

“It was like an earthquake. I wrapped up my goods and was heading home when I saw a fireball with a thunderous bombing. I was so scared to go back and started to make phone calls to my friends, but none answered.”

Iraqi News reported the the identity of the suicide bomber in the bombs blast in Baghdad had been discovered. In a statement issued on its affiliate websites, The Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) revealed the name of the bomber.

“Suicide bomber Abu Maha al-Iraqi blew up his vehicle at al-Karrada in central Baghdad.”

The bomb blasts in Baghdad are the single worst attack against Iraqis since July, 2015, and the worst bomb blast in the last 10 years since the insurgency. At the height of its power in Iraq, which reached its zenith in 2014, ISIS controlled approximately one third of Iraq. Since then, Iraq forces have taken back all but 14 percent of the country. ISIS claimed that their attack was aimed at Shiite Muslims. The Prime Minister has been accused of lax security in the capital as a result of the bomb blasts in Baghdad.

[Photo by Wathiq Khuzaie/Getty Images]

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