ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – The Islamic State (ISIS) claimed on Sunday that one
of its militants carried out a suicide attack in a Shiite mosque in Eastern
Baghdad on Friday amid an uptick of militant activity in Iraq.
Through telegram channels, ISIS claimed
that a militant named Abo Ali al-Ansari had carried out a suicide attack on a
Shiite mosque in the al-Baladiyat neighbourhood in eastern Baghdad.
There were conflicting reports about the number of casualties of the Friday bombing, and there are no definite numbers.
Iraq’s Security Media Cell responsible for announcing security news was silent,
while Saad Maan, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Interior, also was
silent.
Reuters reported that seven people were
injured in the bombing.
AFP on its part reported that there were
two killed civilians and nine individuals were wounded.
Sky News Arabia citing Iraqi media
al-Sumeria claimed that seven Iraqis were killed in the suicide bombing and
more than 20 were injured.
ISIS on its part claimed that the attack
killed and injured more than 40 individuals in the bombing.
The bombing is part of the uptick in ISIS
activity across the country. Despite the fact that the group was declared
defeated in Iraq in December 2017 by former PM Haider al-Abadi.
Between 14,000 and 18,000 ISIS militants
are estimated to still be operating in Iraq and Syria, according to a UN report
in February.
In Iraq, ISIS have taken shelter in and
around the Qarachogh Mountains and in the Hamrin mountain range in Kirkuk,
where they have entered and demanded taxes from villages, as a means to gain funding.
Keen to recuperate their strength following
their territorial defeat in Iraq the militants have also torched several local
crop fields in recent weeks of farmers who refused to pay the tax.
Remnants of the group ambushed and
kidnapped a group of Kurdish civilians in April. They later released all but
one, who, upon inspection of his phone was found to be a member of the Kurdish
security forces (Asayish). He was subsequently killed.
They have also targeted and assassinated
mukhtars (local neighborhood or village chiefs) so that they can operate in
villages freely.
Credit: Rudaw.net – 23 June 2019
https://bit.ly/2LbVlKC
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