BAGHDAD, Jan. 2 (UPI) — For the third time in three days, an ISIS suicide bomber has claimed significant casualties. On Monday, a man detonated a bomb inside his truck in Baghdad’s Sadr City district, killing at least 35 and injuring 61 others.
Early reports of the number of victims varied. Some reports had the death toll as low as 28 and as high as 39.
A pair of similar attacks on Saturday, New Year’s Eve, claimed 30 lives. All three attacks, Saturday’s and Monday’s, targeted Shia gatherings. Saturday’s attacks also occurred near the outdoor produce market in the eastern half of the city center.
The Islamic State claimed responsibility for all of the weekend’s violence. The hard-line Sunni terror group considers Shias apostates, or heretics.
According to several online sources, the terror group said Monday’s attack was intended to “honor” French President Francois Hollande, who is visiting French troops in Iraq.
U.S. and Iraqi forces continue to try to drive Islamic State fighters from Mosul, in northern Iraq, the terror group’s last remaining stronghold. The push has been met with much resistance, and has also inspired an uptick in violence in Baghdad.
