SULAIMANI (ESTA) — A twin suicide bombing killed at least 32 people in a Baghdad market on Thursday, according to authorities.
The Iraqi military said two attackers wearing explosive vests blew themselves up among shoppers at a crowded market in Tayaran Square in central Baghdad.
The Iraqi Ministry of Health said the blasts killed 32 people and wounded 110 others, according to state news agency (INA).
The Iraqi military said some of the injured were in serious condition. Hospital and police officials said the death toll was actually much higher, according to AP.
Iraq’s Health Ministry announced all of its hospitals in the capital were mobilized to treat the wounded.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but Iraq has seen assaults perpetrated by both the Islamic State (ISIS) in recent months.
Yehia Rasool, spokesman for commander-in-chief of Iraqi armed forces, said in a tweet that the two suicide bombers detonated themselves as they were being pursued by security forces in Bab al-Sharji in central Baghdad.
The security forces have closed Baghdad’s Green Zone, which houses government buildings and diplomatic missions.
Baghdad has witnessed almost no such attacks since Iraqi forces and a U.S.-backed coalition drove ISIS from territory it controlled in Iraq in 2017.
The last deadly suicide blast in the Iraqi capital, also at Tayaran Square, killed at least 27 people in January 2018.
Iraqi forces continue to fight remaining ISIS militants and are working to secure the border with Syria across which the group has often moved personnel.
*This story was updated at 03:58 p.m. EBL time
