BAGHDAD – Two suicide attacks occurred in a crowded market in Baghdad on Thursday, killing at least 32 people and injuring at least 75 others in the first such attack in the Iraqi capital in more than two years.
The explosions broke a period of relative calm after the Islamic State lost the territory it controlled in Iraq and Syria in 2019. The explosions highlight the security challenges that Iraq faces after the U.S. withdrew much of its military presence from the country in the last days of the Trump administration.
No group claimed responsibility for the bombing. But it carried the marks of the Islamic State, which in the past carried out lethal bombings against civilians across Iraq and across the Middle East.
Iraqi President Barham Salih condemned the attack, saying in a tweet: “The two terrorist explosions targeting innocent people in Baghdad and at this specific moment confirm the attempt by the dark groups to achieve all national rights and the aspirations of our people for a secure future. “
Yehia Rasool, a military spokesman for the Iraqi Prime Minister, said Iraqi security forces had received information about the two bombers before the attack and were chasing them when they exploded. An official statement by Rasool did not include any further details about the attackers’ pursuit.