Iraq Bombing: At Least 23 Martyred, 24 Injured

Local Editor

A new terrorist car bomb hit at a predominantly Shia neighborhood in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, martyring 13 people and injuring 24 others.

The blast took place outside a popular ice cream shop in Karrada district early on Tuesday.

"A car bomb exploded in the busy al-Hurriya Square in central Baghdad," said Iraqi police Major Ali Mohammed.

It came just days after the start of the holy month of Ramadan, when Iraqi families often stay out late after breaking their daily fast.

The Wahhabi Daesh [Arabic Acronym for the terrorist "ISIS"/"ISIL"] group claimed responsibility for the bombing, with its affiliated Amaq outlet saying a bomber had targeted a "gathering of Shias."

Iraqi officials said the attack apparently involved explosives remotely detonated inside a parked car.

Videos posted on social media showed blood stains and body parts scattered on the ground and the wounded propping themselves up on benches in a nearby park.

"ISIS [Daesh] terrorists tonight in Baghdad target children & families enjoying time together at an ice cream shop," Brett McGurk, the US Special envoy to the US-led coalition said on Twitter.

Karrada was rocked by a similar Daesh bomb attack last July, when 292 people were martyred. That deadly explosion happened when Iraqi families were shopping for the Eid al-Fitr festival at the end of Ramadan.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team