By Ibrahim Salih
BAGHDAD (AA): At least 24 people were killed and dozens injured in a twin bombing claimed by Daesh terrorist group in the Iraqi capital Baghdad on Saturday, according to security and health officials.
Two bombers detonated themselves near spare parts shops in Al-Sinak market in central Baghdad, police officer Ahmed Khalaf told Anadolu Agency.
Hamid al-Gammal of the Baghdad health department said 24 people were killed, including the two bombers.
“At least 38 people were also injured in the bombing,” he said.
The Al-Sinak market is usually teeming with shoppers and daily laborers unloading vans and wheeling carts around.
Daesh terrorist group has swiftly claimed responsibility for the double attack.
The Daesh-linked Amaq news agency said the bombing had targeted a gathering of Shias in the Iraqi capital.
Saturday’s bombing came amid a wide-ranging offensive launched by the Iraqi army to recapture Mosul from the Daesh terrorist group.
Iraq’s second largest city in terms of population, Mosul was overrun – along vast swathes of territory in both northern and western Iraq – by Daesh in 2014.
[Photo: Earlier on 21 December bomb killed many in Koye district of Erbil in Iraq. Photo shows family members mourning during the funeral ceremony held for people who lost their lives in the blast. Photographer: Muhabiri Yunus Keleş/AA]