At Least Eight People Killed In Suicide Bomb Attack On Baghdad Market

Iraqi security officials say at least eight people have been killed and 15 others injured in a suicide bomb attack on a marketplace in Baghdad’s Sadr City area.

A senior police officer said on May 9 that "a suicide bomber wearing an explosive belt blew himself up close to stalls at the crowded Jamila market."

The Islamic State (IS) extremist group claimed responsibility for the attack in an online statement.

The attack occurred around 9 p.m. when many Iraqi Muslims were breaking their daily Ramadan fast and moving out into the city streets.

The security situation in Baghdad has improved after years of violence, although deadly terror attacks continue to hit the area.

In November 2018, explosions at several sites in the capital killed six people. In January 2018, dozens of people were killed in a series of suicide bombings in Baghdad.

Sunni-led IS in 2014 seized wide swathes of territory in Shi'ite-majority Iraq. But backed by a U.S.-led coalition, Baghdad's government forces were able to reclaim nearly all of the lost area.

In 2017, Baghdad declared victory over IS extremists and wiped out their so-called "caliphate."

The militants also lost most of the territory they had taken in Syria, but remaining fighters have still been able to carry out attacks.

The U.S.-led Western military coalition maintains a noncombat force in the country that helps train and advise Iraqi troops.

Based on reporting by AFP, AP, and dpa