Suicide bombing at Shia service in Baghdad kills 21

 

A suicide bomber struck a Baghdad memorial service for a Shia militia fighter killed in battle against the Islamic State group, killing 21 people on Friday.

The bomber detonated his explosives’ vest at the service in the Iraqi capital’s southwestern suburb of Hay al-Amal, a police official said. At least 46 people were wounded in the explosion.

The militia fighter was killed in battle against the militant group in Iraq’s western Anbar province, police said.

IS hand suspected

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but the Islamic State militant group has frequently targeted large Shia gatherings. The radical Sunni group believes that Shias are apostates who have strayed from Islam.

Following its blitz last year, the Islamic State group which splintered off from Iraq’s al-Qaeda branch now holds about a third of Iraq and neighboring Syria in its self-declared caliphate.

Since the emergence of IS extremists, Baghdad has seen near-daily attacks, with roadside bombs, suicide blasts and assassinations targeting Iraqi forces and government officials, with significant casualties among the civilian population.

The violence has killed hundreds and displaced tens of thousands of Iraqis.

Shia militia fighters answered a call to arms last year after the country’s highest Shia religious authority, Ayatollah Ali al-Sisani, called on Iraqi men to defend the country.

The attack came a day after 44 people were killed in south Beirut in a twin bombing claimed by the Islamic State group, the bloodiest such attack in years. — AP

Attack comes a day after

IS suicide blasts claimed

44 lives in south Beirut