Twin Islamic State suicide bombings at Baghdad mall kill 12

The Islamic State claims the responsibility of the attack in eastern Baghdad.

At least 12 people were killed and more than 40 were injured in two suicide bombings late on Friday at a shopping mall in eastern Baghdad. The attack was later claimed by the Islamic State.

The police and hospital sources said one bomb went off at the entrance of the Nakheel Mall while the other exploded in the parking lot.

Reuters reported that an unconfirmed amateur video which was published on Facebook showed "what appeared to be four separate fires, including two cars engulfed in flames, under a highway overpass near the mall amid the wailing sirens of first responders".

The IS-linked Amaq news agency said in an online statement that suicide bombers targeted "a gathering of Shi'ites" on Palestine Street. One of the attackers was wearing a vest while the other one was in the car.

Although the ISIS militants have lost ground in the past year to US-backed government forces and Iranian-backed Shi'ite militias but such bombings show that the group can still strike outside its controlled territory in northern and western Iraq.

Recently, a car bomb near a hospital in central Baghdad killed nine people while in July another explosion down the road in July killed 324. It was one of the deadliest of such attacks since the US-led invasion toppled Saddam Hussein government 13 years ago.

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