A major attack by ISIS against a major marketplace in Baghdad has killed at least 215 people and wounded 175 others. A secondary bombing elsewhere in town killed another five civilians and wounded 16 others.
The major attack took place on Saturday evening, as people gathered in the shopping district to break the Ramadan fast, and to watch the Euro 2016 soccer games on TV at cafes. The car bomb was a massive one, badly damaging a multi-story building nearby and killing large numbers of shoppers.
ISIS was quick to claim credit for the attack, the latest in a string of massive attacks worldwide which have been attributed to them, including the Istanbul airport bombings and the Bangladesh hostage siege. Today’s ISIS statement said they targeted districts popular with Shi’ites.
Locals were highly critical of the Iraqi government’s lack of security at the market, a recurring problem in recent months as ISIS continues to scale up its attacks across the nation, but the Iraqi government dedicates the bulk of its security forces to surrounding ISIS cities and to keeping protesters out of the Baghdad Green Zone, as opposed to trying to defend the rest of Baghdad from frequent bombing attacks.