A suicide bomber detonated in a crowded market place in the Iraqi town of Musayab, a Shi’ite town about 80 miles south of Baghdad and adjacent to the important Shi’ite holy city of Karbala. At least 31 civilians were killed and 35 wounded.in the attack.
Iraqi officials identified the bomber as a female attacker who had explosives hidden under her burka. ISIS claimed credit for the attack, but insisted that the attack, along with another one who hit nearby Karbala killed three others, were both men.
It is extremely common for marketplaces to be the target of terror attacks during Ramadan, and it is likewise quite common in Iraq for Islamist factions to attack Sh’ite areas. ISIS is the most likely culprit, though by no means the only one, particularly at this time of the year.
As ISIS loses most of its territory in Iraq, the group is seem transitioning back to the landless insurgency it was for years before the most recent war. This is likely to mean a focus on launch even more frequent numbers of high profile terrorist attacks across Iraq.