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Markets hit in Baghdad blitz

The Wall Street Journal noted that Western officials expect more of these attacks in which ISIS fighters “melt back into the population to launch attacks” that are harder to counter than a traditional military configuration, which “offers clearer targets than a guerrilla force would”. Scores have also been wounded in the wave of attacks.

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Then a suicide truck bomb hit the Sadr City district, killing 22 and wounding 36, Alison reports. It could open the possibility that Iraqi army units are pulled from the front line fighting ISIS to help secure the capital.

An initial bomb blast was followed by a female suicide bomber who blew herself up in a marketplace, they said.

Islamic State said in a statement distributed online by supporters that one of its fighters had targeted Shi’ite militiamen with hand grenades and a suicide vest.

This was the third time in several days that the Iraqi capital had been hit by deadly bombings.

At least 69 people have died after a wave of auto bombs in Baghdad. Some other people who came to shop were either killed or wounded. The attack was carried out with an explosives-laden auto that was parked near the market. On Monday, a U.S. Defense Department spokesman spoke to reporters about the fight against the group.

Another explosion occurred at a popular market in southern Baghdad’s Nahiyet al-Rashid district, where at least three people died.

A suicide vehicle bombing hit a crowded outdoor market in Baghdad’s eastern Shiite neighbourhood of Sadr City, Iraq. In all, IS-claimed attacks killed over 100 people last week, marking Baghdad’s deadliest period so far this year.

The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for the first two attacks.

A male suicide bomber struck another neighborhood near Al-Shaab, Alison reports. He says the explosion also wounded up to 40 people.

Medical officials confirmed the casualty figures.

Anger over the attacks adds to pressure on Abadi, who reacted Tuesday by directing Iraqi forces to step up efforts to uncover cells behind the bombings, and ordered the arrest of a security official responsible for one area that was targeted.

In a statement, Deputy Oil Minister Hamid Younis said firefighters managed to control and extinguish the fire.

On Friday, ISIS gunmen opened fire on a coffee shop in Balad, a city about 80 kilometers (50 miles) north of Baghdad.

A auto bomb targeting a shopping area in the town of Latifiyah, about 20 miles south of the capital, killed seven people, including two soldiers, police and hospital officials said.

After today’s bombings, Sadr began deploying his own militia in parts of the city to provide security.

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Colonel Steve Warren, the spokesman for the global operation against IS, cited jihadist battlefield setbacks as the primary motivation for the increase in Baghdad attacks. News stories displayed here appear in our category for General and are licensed via a specific agreement between LongIsland.com and The Associated Press, the world’s oldest and largest news organization.

Haidar Hamdani