This image made from
Associated Press video shows, smoke billowing through the air during an
offensive by Iraqi military forces into Fallujah to retake the city from
Islamic State militants in Iraq, Monday, May 30, 2016. (AP Video via
AP)
BAGHDAD—A wave of bombings claimed by the Islamic State
group targeted commercial areas in and around Baghdad on Monday, killing
at least 24 people in attacks that came as Iraqi troops poised to
recapture Fallujah, a city held by the extremists group west of Iraq’s
capital.
The bombings by IS, which has been behind several recent deadly
attacks in Baghdad and beyond, are seen as an attempt by the militants
to distract the security forces’ attention away from the front lines.
The Iraqi military, backed by paramilitary troops and aerial support
from the U.S.-led coalition, launched the operation to dislodge the
militants from Fallujah about a week ago but have still to start the
final push into the city center.
The deadliest of Monday’s attacks took place in the northern,
Shiite-dominated Shaab neighborhood of Baghdad where a suicide bomber
rammed his explosives-laden car into a checkpoint next to a commercial
area, killing eight civilians and three soldiers.
The explosion also wounded up to 14 people, a police officer said.
A suicide car bomber struck an outdoor market in the town of
Tarmiyah, about 50 kilometers (31 miles) north of Baghdad, killing seven
civilians and three policemen, another police officer said, adding that
24 people were wounded in that bombing.
And in Baghdad’s eastern Shiite Sadr City district, a bomb motorcycle
went off at a market, killing three and wounding 10, police said.
Medical officials confirmed casualty figures. All officials spoke on
condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to release
information.
In an online statement, IS claimed responsibility for the attacks,
saying they targeted members of the Shiite militias and a government
office. The Associated Press could not verify the authenticity of the
statement but it was posted on a militant website commonly used by
extremists.
Fallujah is one of the last major IS strongholds in western Iraq. The
extremist group still controls territory in the country’s north and
west, as well as Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city.
On Sunday, Iraqi Maj. Dhia Thamir said troops have recaptured 80
percent of the territory around Fallujah since the operation began and
are currently battling IS to the northeast as they seek to tighten the
siege ahead of a planned final push into the city center.
In a televised speech Sunday to parliament, Iraqi Prime Minister
Haider al-Abadi called on Fallujah residents to either leave the city or
stay indoors. Government officials and aid groups estimate that more
than 50,000 people remain inside the center of the Sunni majority city.
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