Several blasts targeting the busy shopping and business district of Baghdad from late on Saturday night till Sunday morning have left at least 80 people dead and around 200 injured. The blasts are believed to have more impact because of the ongoing month of Ramadan, which Muslims consider holy. Muslims generally tend to do a lot of shopping and eating throughout the night all through this month, having fasted during the day time.
According to a Reuters report, at least 80 people were killed and around 200 injured when a truck-refrigerator containing explosives was set of in Karrada. According to an Indo Asian News Service (IANS) report, the attack took place around 1 a.m. local time. The blast, which had considerable power, damaged several shops and cars, the source was quoted as saying by IANS. A Reuters TV footage showed that at least four buildings were damaged badly and only parts of them were standing.
The Islamic State group, also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (Isis) or the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil), claimed responsibility for the attack, according to a statement that was put online by its supporters.
In the other incident, a booby-trapped car exploded at a popular market in which many shops and stalls near the blast radius were either damaged or completely destroyed. As reported by Reuters, two people were killed in this incident.
Iraq has been witness to renewed violence since Isis gained control of parts of its northern and western regions in 2014. Since then, sectarian violence has only proliferated, matched only by brutalities of Isis, which is locally known as Daesh.
Daesh, which is primarily Sunni, has often attacked Shia-dominated areas in and around the regions it occupies in the Middle East.
