Baghdad suicide bombing targets Shia area, at least 21 dead

BAGHDAD, July 24 (UPI) -- A suicide bomber targeted the mostly Shiite neighborhood of Kadhimiya Sunday morning, killing at least 21 people.

The Islamic State took credit for the terror attack in northern Baghdad, which also injured 35 others, CNN reported The terror group's media wing, Amaq, released a statement on pro-IS social media accounts circulated by its followers.

This latest suicide bombing comes on the heels of the July 3 terror attack in Baghdad, considered the worst in recent history. In that Karrada attack, a suicide truck drove in to a busy shopping area and killed nearly 300 people.

The truck, filled with bombs, plowed into a building with a coffee shop and stores while people were gathered to break Ramadan fasts.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, caregivers at Kadhimiya hospital, where blast victims were taken, said the death toll will likely rise since some of the wounded are in critical condition.

Meanwhile, three more people were killed and at least 11 wounded in a bomb explosion in Baghdad's Abu Ghraib western suburb, Al Jazeera reported. The bombing took place in an outdoor market, a police officer said.

The IS, also known as ISIL, ISIS and Daesh, has been losing ground, most recently in Fallujah, after carving out a caliphate in parts of both Syria and Iraq. But its ability to target areas in the core of Baghdad may force a delay of the Iraqi government's long-awaited desire to retake Mosul, the largest city remaining under IS control, analysts said.

The Karrada attack brought about the resignation of Mohammed Salem al-Ghabban, Iraq's interior minister, who stepped down just two days after that bombing, saying the country is dealing with a lack of coordination "among security systems."

The government also ordered its security personnel to stop using fake bomb detectors it has used for years and that were widely known as useless.