PHOTO: Crowd gathers at scene of Monday’s bombing in Sadr City (Ahmed Saad/Reuters)


At least 39 people have been wounded and 57 wounded in an Islamic State suicide bombing in Iraq’s capital Baghdad.

ISIS fighters drove a pickup into a busy fruit and vegetable square, near day laborers and a police checkpoint, in the Sadr City district.

The Islamic State took responsibility for the “martyrdom operations” via its Amaq website, claiming the “martyrdom operation”. The group also claimed an attack in central Baghdad that killed at least 27 people on Saturday.

Under pressure from an offensive on its central location in Iraq’s second city Mosul, the Islamic State has responded with bombings and attacks elsewhere in the country. On Monday, fighters attacked an army barracks near Baiji, 180 km (110 miles) north of Baghdad, killing four soldiers and wounding 12 people. They seized weapons there and launched mortars at the nearby town of Shirqat, forcing security forces to impose a curfew and close schools and offices.

Shirqat mayor Ali Dodah said ISIS seized three checkpoints to Baiji, while shelling killed at least two children.

Meanwhile, gunmen broke into a village near Udhaim, 90 km (55 miles) north of Baghdad, and executed nine Sunni tribal fighters. At least three pro-government Shia militia were killed and seven wounded by an attack with mortar rounds and machine guns.