Islamic State suicide bombers kill dozens in and around Baghdad | News | DW | 09.06.2016

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Islamic State suicide bombers kill dozens in and around Baghdad

A pair of Islamic State suicide bombings around Baghdad have left at least 27 people dead. The blasts came as US-backed Iraqi forces press ahead with an assault on the IS stronghold of Fallujah.

The burned out skleton of a bus is all that remains after suicide bombing in Baghdad.

At least 15 civilians were killed in the commercial section of the predominantly Shiite neighborhood of al-Jadida in eastern Baghdad. Twelve more - seven civilians and five troops - were killed at an army checkpoint 12 miles (20 km) north of the city, in Taji, according to police and medical workers.

"Islamic State" (IS), the Sunni denominated militants, claimed responsibility for both bombings, saying the Baghdad attack targeted Shiite militia members while the Taji bombing targeted the Iraqi arm.

The veracity of the claims could not immediately be confirmed, but they appeared on a website often used by militants.

The Sunni militant group often targets Iraq's Shiite majority, as well as security forces and government officials.

Such attacks in Baghdad have become a near-daily occurrence in recent weeks, as the Iraqi army continues its assault on the IS stronghold of Fallujah, less than 40 miles (60 kilometers) west of Baghdad.

The deadly attacks in and around the capital are seen as an attempt by the jihadis to distract Iraqi security forces from the fighting on the front lines - now in Fallujah.

Battles continue in Fallujah, Manbij

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Iraq: the battle for Fallujah shifts to city centre

The Iraqi army launched a large-scale military assault on Fallujah last month, and their attack was bolstered yesterday by the addition of Iraqi special forces.

Fallujah is one of the last major IS strongholds in western Iraq, but the militants still control territory in the country's north and west, as well as the northern city of Mosul, Iraq's second largest city.

The militant's strongholds are under attack on multiple fronts. US-backed local forces in Syria are pushing into the strategic town of Manbij.

The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have closed all major roads into the city and have it blockaded on three sides.

A statement by the Military Council of the City of Manbij, part of the SDF, said Thursday that all roads from the east, north and south have been cut.

The group said they are close enough to target IS inside the town but they are delaying their assault on Manbij to avoid civilian casualties.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said SDF fighters are less than half-a-mile (800 meters) from the last main road linking Manbij with the city of Aleppo. That road is now closed by military fire.

bik/sms (AP, dpa)

  • Yazidi refugees hang laundry on a line outside tents pitched on the side of a mountain

    A persecuted minority finds refuge in the shadow of Mt. Olympus

    A remote camp, high in the hills

    Hundreds of Yazidis who fled Iraq and "Islamic State" have found themselves stuck in Greece. Many from the Kurdish religious community agreed to be moved from Idomeni border camp, population about 12,000, to Petra. "We came here escape the problems at Idomeni," said community leader Tarik Ibrahim. Tensions had been running high at the overfilled camp.

  • Women and children sit in on the ground at Petra Camp

    A persecuted minority finds refuge in the shadow of Mt. Olympus

    Survivors in limbo

    Nine hundred and sixty Yazidis have settled in Petra, which is meant to accommodate the survivors of the 2014 "Yazidi genocide," when 'Islamic State" fighters pushed through the region of Shengal, executing men and taking women, children and elderly people as prisoners.

  • Kemal Shamo stands in a tent

    A persecuted minority finds refuge in the shadow of Mt. Olympus

    Safety abroad

    Kemal Shamo, 22, said his family had been split apart by the conflict and is now spread between Turkey, Germany, Greece and Iraq. Yazidis do not feel safe in Iraqi Kurdistan, he told DW, adding that Kurdish peshmerga fighters abandoned their positions when IS swept through Yazidi villages in 2014. "They left us with IS and now we can't trust them."

  • A man carries a mattress on his back

    A persecuted minority finds refuge in the shadow of Mt. Olympus

    Yet another refugee camp

    A Yazidi man carries a mattress found inside an abandoned hospital on the camp's premises. Since the camp was established, the new inhabitants have been working tirelessly to reinforce tents and create comfortable spaces. Many said they had already been living in refugee camps for years before arriving in Greece.

  • Women and children stand in line to collect supplies

    A persecuted minority finds refuge in the shadow of Mt. Olympus

    Short on supplies

    Women line up to receive diapers and other necessities. The NGO CYCI has spearheaded efforts to establish and supply the camp. "We told the Greek government that we have many people that need to be moved to a safe place," said Vanessa Kunitz of CYCI. "Every day we bring something like Pampers and strollers."

  • A girl bathes a small boy in a bucket

    A persecuted minority finds refuge in the shadow of Mt. Olympus

    Kids' camp

    Children make up nearly half the camp's population. In many cases, father and brothers traveled ahead of the rest of the family and arrived in western Europe before the borders closed, leaving many women and children behind.

  • Children swing and climb on an industrial lift

    A persecuted minority finds refuge in the shadow of Mt. Olympus

    Risky games

    Children bide their time playing on an industrial lift parked at Petra Camp, adjacent to the abandoned hospital.

  • Men sit in the shade a tent

    A persecuted minority finds refuge in the shadow of Mt. Olympus

    Room with a view

    Yazidi men sit in the shade of a military tent on the premises of Petra Camp, where they have a view of the surrounding countryside and down to the sea. "We have no hope," said Kemal Shamo.

    Author: Jodi Hilton, Petra Camp, Greece


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