At least 77 people were killed and over 140 wounded in a series of bombings in Baghdad yesterday, extending the deadliest spate of attacks in the capital so far this year and driving Shi’ite fighters into the streets to defend some areas.
Islamic State claimed a suicide bombing which killed 41 people and wounded more than 70 in the northern district of al-Shaab as well as a car bomb in nearby Sadr City that left at least 30 dead and 57 wounded, police and medical sources said. Another car blew up in al-Rasheed, south of the capital, killing six and wounding 21, the sources said. Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi ordered the arrest of the official in charge of al-Shaab’s security, his office said in a statement, without giving a reason.
The four separate bombings were a challenge to the beleaguered government of Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, who is struggling to prove that his forces can maintain security in Baghdad and elsewhere.
