At least 31 killed, 69 wounded in massive Daesh bombings in Baghdad

The attacks come just days into the holy month of Ramadan when Muslims fast during daylight hours. After sundown, families break their fast and restaurants and cafes quickly fill up with people staying up long into the night.

By MURTADA FARAJThe Associated Press-Tues., May 30, 2017

BAGHDAD—A massive bombing by Daesh, also known as ISIS or ISIL, outside a popular ice cream shop in central Baghdad and a rush hour car bomb in another downtown area killed at least 31 people on Tuesday, Iraqi officials said.

Later in the day, bombings in and around the Iraqi capital killed seven more people.

The attacks come as Daesh militants are steadily losing more territory to U.S.-backed Iraqi forces in the battle for Mosul, the country’s second-largest city. The Sunni extremists are increasingly turning to insurgency-style terror attacks to distract attention from their losses.

The nighttime attack outside the ice cream parlour in the bustling Karrada neighbourhood killed 17 people and also wounded 32, police and health officials said.

A closed-circuit camera captured the moment of the explosion, the video showing a busy downtown avenue, with cars driving down the street when the blast strikes. A huge fireball then engulfs a building, forcing the cars to scramble to get away. Other videos of the attack posted on social media show wounded and bloodied people crying for help on the sidewalk outside the ice cream parlour.

In the second attack, an explosives-laden car went off during rush hour near the state-run Public Pension Office in Baghdad’s busy Shawaka area, killing 14, a police officer said. At least 37 people were wounded in that attack, he added.

Daesh claimed responsibility for a bombing outside a popular ice cream shop in central Baghdad and a rush hour car bomb in another downtown area on Tuesday.  (KARIM KADIM / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS)  

In separate online statements, Daesh claimed responsibility for the two attacks, saying its suicide bombers targeted gatherings of Shiites. The Associated Press could not verify the authenticity of the statements but they were posted on a militant website commonly used by extremists.

Later Tuesday, seven people died and 19 were wounded in four separate bombings in and around Baghdad, officials said. The attacks targeted commercial areas and a patrol of Sunni anti-Daesh tribal fighters, they said. No group immediately claimed those attacks.