ISIS Claims More Suicide-Bombing Attacks
The Associated Press is reporting on three ISIS suicide-bombing attacks against the mainly Shiite neighborhood of al-Rashidiya in Baghdad, the capital of Iraq, on Wednesday, on the eve of the 58th anniversary of the overthrow of the Hashemite monarchy.
A military parade is scheduled on Thursday when Iraq will celebrate the declaration of its independence as a republic.
The male suicide bomber reportedly rammed his explosive-laden vehicle into a checkpoint which wounded up to 23 people, killing six civilians and two police officers.
Two other attacks took place elsewhere in the capital, which authorities confirm killed four.
The attacks on Wednesday followed a Tuesday attack from another suicide car bombing in the same district which killed another 12 at a fruit and vegetable market.
ISIS Attacks Escalated Against Shiite Majority
Prior to the latest attacks, suicide bombers recently attacked the tomb of Muhammad ibn Ali al-Hadi, a mausoleum referred to as the Sayyed Muhammad Shrine.
According to al-Manar News , ISIS suicide bombers detonated themselves at the shrine in Balad, Iraq, resulting in a death of 37 which reportedly would have been greater if it hadn’t been for a man named Najih Shakir al-Baldawi who is said to have hugged one of the suicide bombers before the bomb exploded right next to another bomber who also detonated theirs; Shakir absorbed the impact of the blast.
The suicide bombers were disguised as local militia, and when they stormed the shrine to detonate the bomb, Shakir stopped them at the entrance.
Prior to the attack, according to the Iraqi Joint Operations Command, ISIS militants had launched several mortar shells near the mausoleum.
The Shiite militant group Hezbollah released a statement condemning the attackand saying that it was proof that the terrorist group does not distinguish their targets away from the most sacred and holiest of sites.
Their statement further leaned on this as proof of the terrorists group’s contempt, imploring the people that they should not support terrorism to achieve partisan gains.
Everyone Against ISIS
Last month, the Inquisitr reported on the battle between U.S.-led coalition forces and ISIS in the predominately Sunni majority Fallujah, which pushed the group out as part of multiple operations against the terrorist group across Iraq and Syria.
U.S. is stepping up its military campaign against Islamic State ahead of Mosul offensive: https://t.co/ron2DKoMWv pic.twitter.com/fzX4T1y9jG
— Reuters World (@ReutersWorld) July 11, 2016
As forces put more pressure on the group in Mosul, suicide bombing attacks have increased in Baghdad, which many agree are designed to stir up more sectarianism in the country.
In the past, in the battle with al-Qaeda and the U.S. during the Bush administration across Iraq in 2003 thru 2011, the rift of sectarianism has been exploited by all ends. But since ISIS had gained territory in both Syria and Iraq in 2013-2014, many have changed their positions on sectarianism and have collaborated to push the terrorist group out completely.
News Pundits Prepare Us For A New World Of Random Terrorist Attacks https://t.co/2N4DmUHTSe
— The Inquisitr (@theinquisitr) July 11, 2016
The concern expressed from all sides is that suicide-bombing attacks will increase throughout Europe and in the West, which Inquisitr analyzed recently.
A piece from CNN on the narrative of the recent battle over Fallujah as a Sunni versus Shiite war claims that this assertion is incorrect.
In the case of Fallujah — which is mostly Sunni as the ISIS group also is — when forces entered the city to relieve the people, they began working with them to find out who worked for the terrorist group, relying on the community to oust them which has been widely reported and also featured in a documentary by VICE News .
In the case of the reports, many of those people caught working with ISIS were bomb makers, and the Iraqi government has been under pressure to do something after each suicide-bombing attack as they try to work diligently to prevent more of them.
[Photo by Hadi Mizban/AP Images]