Deadly bombings claimed by ISIS targeted commercial areas in and
around Baghdad on Monday, killing at least 24 people in attacks that
came as Iraqi troops moved to recapture Fallujah, a city west of Iraq's
capital that's held by the extremist group.
Brig. Haider al-Obeidi, with the elite counterterrorism troops, says
the push started at dawn on Monday from the southern edge under the
cover of coalition air support.
Al-Obeidi said the clashes are "fierce," with ISIS extremists deploying snipers and releasing a volley of mortar rounds.
The operation to recapture Fallujah, which is 65 kilometres west of Baghdad, was first announced last week.
Fallujah first fell to ISIS more than two years ago and is one of the
group's last strongholds in western Iraq. The militants still control
patches of territory in the country's north and east, as well as the
second largest city of Mosul.
The bombings in Baghdad are seen as an attempt to distract the security forces' attention away from the front lines.
The deadliest of Monday's attacks took place in the northern, Shia-dominated Shaab
neighbourhood of Baghdad where a suicide bomber rammed his
explosives-laden car into a checkpoint next to a commercial area,
killing eight civilians and three soldiers.
The explosion also wounded up to 14 people, a police officer said.
A suicide car bomber struck an outdoor market in the town of
Tarmiyah, about 50 kilometres north of Baghdad, killing seven civilians
and three policemen, another police officer said, adding that 24 people
were wounded in that bombing.
And in Baghdad's eastern Shia Sadr City district, a bomb motorcycle
went off at a market, killing three and wounding 10, police said.
Medical officials confirmed casualty figures. All officials spoke on
condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to release
information.
In an online statement, ISIS claimed responsibility for the attacks,
saying they targeted members of the Shia militias and a government
office. The Associated Press could not verify the authenticity of the
statement but it was posted on a militant web site commonly used by
extremists.
0 comments:
Post a Comment