BAGHDAD, Iraq – The Islamic State (ISIS) claimed responsibility for a massive suicide car bombing in Baghdad at midnight Monday that killed at least 15, wounded 32 and incinerated some 17 vehicles and eight shops.
The explosion was caused by a car bombing near the Abdulmajeed Hospital in Baghdad’s Karrada neighborhood, security sources told Rudaw.
“At midnight, a car bomb targeted young people gathered at a cafe, killing 15 and wounding 32 others,” a security official told Rudaw.
According to the source, “17 civilian vehicles were incinerated and eight shops were burned down” by the bomb.
ISIS claimed the attack in a statement, saying it was a “martyrdom operation.”
Amaq, the ISIS media outlet, said the “martyrdom operation by a suicide car bomber targeted a Shiite gathering in the Karrada neighborhood of Baghdad," media reports said.
Iraqi security forces cordoned off the site of the blast, as military vehicles and ambulances rushed to the scene.
According to information obtained by Rudaw, the blast was near a deadly July attack in Karrada which claimed the lives of 300 people during the holy month of Ramadan.
