Overnight, a devastating terrorist attack has taken place in market areas in Baghdad, leaving at least 125 people dead and over 180 people injured.
According to the ABC, a refrigerator truck packed with explosives detonated outside a restaurant in Karrada, which is a busy shopping area. Karrada was, at the time, packed with families celebrating the end of Ramadan.
Footage of the attack has surfaced online – please watch with caution, as the content of this video may be considered graphic by some viewers:
At least 125 people were killed in this Baghdad car bomb claimed by Islamic State militantshttps://t.co/apAP8AoOMu https://t.co/EjkVBQ1EL6
— BBC Breaking News (@BBCBreaking) July 3, 2016
Shortly after the refrigerator truck explosion, another explosion went off in eastern Baghdad, which is thought to have killed around 5 people.
Islamic State (IS) have claimed responsibility for the huge suicide bombing attack, stating the bombs were ‘part of ongoing security operations’. The jihadist group said it purposely targeted members of Iraq‘s Shiite Muslim majority, who they consider ‘heretics’.
This devastating attack is the biggest single attack the Iraqi city has seen this year.
We will update this story as more information arises.
Photo: Andolu Agency / Getty.
