By Haydar Hadi

BAGHDAD, (AA): A double car bombing at a shopping mall in Baghdad left 35 people dead late Friday, a security source said.

Forty were injured when the bombs exploded at the Nakheel Mall opposite the oil ministry in eastern Baghdad at around midnight local time (2100GMT), the source said on condition of anonymity due to safety fears.

The explosions set ablaze a number of cars parked at the parking lot and outside the mall, and damaged many others.

The suicide attack was claimed by Daesh in an online statement published by the Amaq News Agency linked to the terror group.

The mall in Palestine Street was open late in the run-up to next week’s Eid al-Adha feast.

Daesh has suffered defeats across Iraq and Syria in recent months, leading some observers to predict a rise in bombings on soft civilian targets as its military strength is eroded.

The United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq says a total of 691 Iraqis were killed and another 1,016 wounded in acts of terror and armed conflict in August.

According to the UN mission, the number of civilian fatalities stood at 473. Violence also claimed the lives of 218 members of Iraqi security forces. A great portion of last month’s fatalities was recorded in Baghdad, where 231 civilians were killed.

Additional report by The Muslim News
[Photo: Twin car bombing outside al-Nakheel Mall in Baghdad on 9 September 2016. Photographer: Arabic language Al-Forat News Agency]