At least 27 people were killed when Islamic State (ISIS) militants detonated a bomb outside a popular ice cream parlour in Baghdad on Tuesday. The incident reportedly occurred when families with children were out for a snack after breaking their Ramadan fast early on Tuesday morning.
The incident was captured on a closed-circuit camera, which showed a busy downtown avenue, with cars driving down the street when a massive blast struck the area, Associated Press reports.
Several videos of the attack were also posted on social media, showing wounded people smeared with blood crying for help on the sidewalk outside the ice cream parlour.
Security officials said that the explosion, which occurred in the Iraqi capital's bustling Karrada neighbourhood, also wounded 27 people.
ISIS later claimed responsibility for the attack saying that a suicide bomber carried out the explosion outside the ice cream shop. The explosives were reportedly placed in a parked car, according to security officials.
"[ISIS] wants Iraqis to fear going out and this is to show they are still present and able to strike the heart of the Iraqi capital, even as they are being defeated on the battlefield," Hayder al-Khoei, a London-based Middle East expert, told Al Jazeera.
Brett McGurk, the US envoy to the coalition against ISIS, tweeted, "Isis [IS] terrorists tonight in Baghdad target children & families enjoying time together at an ice cream shop. We stand w/Iraq against this evil."
