Image copyright AFP Image caption Some victims were buried hours later in the Shia Muslim holy city of Najaf

Two suicide bombers have killed at least 35 people and injured 90 in an attack on a Baghdad square where day labourers gather to look for work.

They set off their devices at intervals, sending people scattering across Tayaran Square in the centre of the Iraqi capital.

Scores of labourers are said to be among the dead and injured.

Attacks on the city had become less frequent since the Islamic State group lost its Iraqi strongholds last year.

The government declared it had retaken all territory overrun by the Sunni Muslim militants since 2014.

How were the attacks mounted?

Image copyright Reuters Image caption Officials say the death toll could rise

Two men set off suicide bomb belts, the first one detonating his device at around 10:00 (07:00 GMT).

CCTV videos circulated on social media show the moment of the first blast and people fleeing through stalls or carrying at least one person who seems to be injured.

An eyewitness, Husain Abdallah, told AFP news agency the bomber had just got off a bus.

After the blast Mr Abdallah and others began running and were still trying to escape when the second bomb went off.

Another video, recorded on a mobile phone, captured the moment of that attack and the crowd panic that followed, with what appeared to be shots being fired.

The attacks were designed to maximise casualties, as is often the case, with one bomb swiftly followed by another, BBC Arab affairs editor Sebastian Usher says.

Large crowds of construction workers gather to find work every morning on Tayaran and it has been targeted by militants in the past.

Another bomb attack in Baghdad on Monday, in the north-eastern district of Jamila, killed two civilians and injured six others, medical and security sources say.

Who carried out the attacks?

Image copyright EPA Image caption A bloodstained puddle could be seen on the square after the attacks

No group said it had carried out the bombing but such attacks are usually attributed to IS, which regards members of Iraq's majority Shia Muslim community as heretics.

Success by Iraqi forces in defeating IS as a territorial threat is likely to have caused the decrease in attacks recently, as jihadist bomb factories west of Baghdad can no longer operate, our Arab affairs editor adds.

However, there are fears the militants will revert to the guerrilla tactics they have used for so long.

A suicide bomb attack on a checkpoint in the north of the city on Saturday killed at least five people, police said.

How bad have previous attacks been?

Attacks on the square since 2011 have killed 180 people, "often in the run-up to elections or just after the polls", Iraqi analyst Hisham al-Hashemi was quoted as saying by AFP.

Their aim is to "create chaos and exacerbate sectarian divisions", he said.

Other militant attacks in recent years have been even deadlier:

In July 2016 more than 300 civilians were killed and hundreds injured in an IS suicide truck bomb attack on Baghdad's Shia district of Karrada - the deadliest attack by a single bomber in Iraq's history

In November 2016 up to 125 people, many of them Shia pilgrims from Iran and Afghanistan, were killed in a suicide car bombing by IS at a petrol station in Hilla, south of Baghdad

In July 2015 a truck bombing in a marketplace at Khan Bani Saad, Diyala, killed up to 120; it was claimed by IS

On 11 May 2016 multiple bombings in Baghdad targeted mainly Shia districts including Sadr City, killing 93 people; IS said it had carried out two of the attacks</s>Iraq's Interior Ministry spokesman says a double suicide bombing in central Baghdad has killed at least 16 people.

Maj. Gen. Saad Maan says the rush-hour attack struck at the city's Tayran Square on Monday morning.

He says it was carried out by two suicide bombers and that the explosions also wounded at least 65 people. The area around the square is usually crowded by laborers seeking work.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack but it bore the hallmarks of the Islamic State group, which has claimed such attacks before.

Militant attacks have decreased significantly in Baghdad and other parts of Iraq since the country's security forces retook nearly all territory once held by IS. Iraqi and U.S. officials have warned IS would continue with insurgent-style attacks.</s>BAGHDAD, Iraq — At least 26 people have been killed in a double suicide bombing in central Baghdad, according to the Ministry of Health, in the second deadly attack to hit the Iraqi capital in just three days.

Ninety more people were wounded in the attack, when two bombers detonated suicide vests at a square in the Iraqi capital, officials said.

A large crowd of laborers usually gather at the square each morning searching for day jobs, and the number of casualties is expected to rise.

Monday’s bombing is the first major attack in Baghdad after the declaration of victory over ISIS by the Iraqi government last month.

There has been no claim of responsibility for either attack.

Baghdad was a key target for attacks by ISIS fighters, as the militant group gained swathes of territory in Iraq in 2014. But the city had experienced a period of relative calm for months before the attacks in recent days.

On Saturday, a suicide bomber carried out an attack at Aden Square in northern Baghdad, killing and wounding several people, according to security officials.</s>Iraq's Interior Ministry spokesperson says a double suicide bombing in central Baghdad has killed at least 16 people. The Health Ministry said 26 died.

Maj.-Gen. Saad Maan says the rush-hour attack struck at the city's Tayran Square on Monday morning.

He says it was carried out by two suicide bombers and that the explosions also wounded at least 65 people. The area around the square is usually crowded by labourers seeking work.

The Health Ministry, meanwhile, gave a far higher casualty toll. Spokesperson Saif al-Badr said 26 people were killed and that 90 were wounded but the Interior Ministry couldn't confirm those figures. Different casualty tolls are common in the immediate aftermath of such large attacks.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack but it bore the hallmarks of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria group, which has claimed such attacks before.

Militant attacks have decreased significantly in Baghdad and other parts of Iraq since the country's security forces retook nearly all territory once held by ISIS. Iraqi and U.S. officials have warned ISIS would continue with insurgent-style attacks.</s>BAGHDAD — At least 26 people were killed in Baghdad Monday morning in a double suicide bombing, according to Ministry of Health spokesman Dr. Saif al-Bader.

The attack left at least 90 people wounded, and the casualty figure is expected to rise.

The two bombers detonated their deadly suicide vests in a square in central Baghdad, Interior Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Saad Maan said.

The square would have been busy at that time of day, with laborers gathering in the area in search of day jobs.

On Saturday, a suicide bomber struck in northern Baghdad killing and wounding several people, according to security officials.

This comes after a period of relative calm in the Iraqi capital and is the first major attack after the declaration of victory over ISIS by the Iraqi government last month.

There has been no claim of responsibility.</s>Iraqi security forces gather at the scene of a double suicide bombing in Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, Jan. 15, 2018. Interior Ministry spokesman said a double suicide bombing in central Baghdad has killed and wounded civilians. (AP Photo/Ali Abdul Hassan)

Two suicide bombers blew themselves up at a busy street market in central Baghdad on Monday, in back-to-back explosions that killed at least 38 people, Iraqi health and police officials said — the deadliest attack since last month's declaration of victory over the Islamic State group.



The bombings came just two days after a suicide bomber struck a police checkpoint in northern Baghdad, killing eight people there.

No group has so far claimed responsibility for either attack but they bore all the hallmarks of IS, which has claimed many such attacks in the past.



Monday's bombers struck during rush hour in the city's Tayran Square, which is usually crowded by laborers seeking work. The twin explosions also wounded at least 105 people, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.

Ambulances rushed to the scene as security forces sealed off the area with yellow tape. Slippers could be seen scattered about on the blood-stained pavement as cleaners hurried to clear the debris. Photographs posted on social media showed lifeless bodies and pieces of limbs.

The twin explosions shocked residents in the Iraqi capital because large attacks had decreased significantly in Baghdad and other parts of country since security forces retook nearly all territory once held by IS militants.



Munthir Falah, a vendor who sells secondhand clothes at the street market, survived Monday's attack with shrapnel injuries to his chest and right leg.

"It was a tremendous, I felt the ground shaking under my feet," he described the explosions to The Associated Press. "I fell on the ground and lost conscious to find myself later in the hospital."

Falah, a father of three, blamed the government forces for not doing enough to secure the capital and its residents.

"They think that Daesh is done with the territorial loses and they do not bother themselves to exert efforts to secure Baghdad," he said, using the Arabic name for IS.



Jalal Ali, owner of a mobile phone store, recounted how he saw bodies of some of those killed in the explosion lying on the street as he stepped off a minibus.

"Me and others on the bus were so shocked to see this," said Ali, adding that he sought shelter between nearby cars and walls. He said he expected such attacks after the government announced national elections for May.

"I'm sure they will increase," he said.

Iraqi Parliament Speaker Salim al-Jabouri denounced the attack as a "cowardly act against innocent people" and called on the government to take all necessary security measures.



Iraqi and U.S. officials have warned that IS would continue with insurgent-style attacks even after the Iraqi military and U.S.-led coalition succeeded in uprooting the Islamic State group across the country.

The cost of victory has been nearly incalculable as the three years of war against IS devastated much of northern and western Iraq — roughly a third of the country — where Islamic State militants had held most of the territory.</s>At least 35 people have been killed in a double suicide bombing in the Iraqi capital Baghdad, officials say, the second attack in three days.

More than 90 were injured in the attack in Tayaran Square in the city centre.

Baghdad has seen almost daily bombings and armed attacks since the Islamic State group took over large areas of the country in 2014.

However, the pace of attacks has declined since the militants' defeat in December.

Monday's attack was carried out by two men with suicide vests packed with explosives, the interior ministry said.

The site of the attack is a busy square where large crowds of construction workers gather to find work.

It has been targeted by militants in the past.

An AFP reporter said there were a large number of security personnel at the site.

A suicide bomb attack on a checkpoint in the north of the city on Saturday killed at least five people, police said.

The renewed violence follows the announcement of parliamentary elections to be held in May.</s>BAHGDAD (AFP) - A double suicide bombing killed at least 26 people in Baghdad on Monday (Jan 15), in the second such attack in the Iraqi capital in three days, testing the authorities, who have declared victory over Islamists.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but most such attacks in Iraq are the work of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) terror group.

The bombing comes after Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi's government declared victory over ISIS in December and as the country gears up for parliamentary elections.

"Two suicide bombers blew themselves up in Tayyaran Square in central Baghdad," said General Saad Maan, spokesman for the Joint Operations Command, which includes the army and the police.

Tayyaran Square is a bustling commercial centre and a place where day labourers gather in the early morning waiting for jobs. It has been the site of deadly attacks in the past.

Security forces cordoned off the scene of the bombing as ambulances gathered in the area, an AFP journalist said.

Mr Abadi held an emergency meeting with the Joint Operations Command and intelligence officials after the bombing, his office said, asking them to "eliminate IS sleeper cells and protect the security of civilians". IS is another acronym for ISIS.

Analysts have warned that ISIS would increasingly turn to such attacks as it was pushed underground after losing territory spanning the Iraq-Syria border.

In December, the government announced the "end of the war" against ISIS, which has been expelled from the Baghdad region and urban areas of Iraq that it controlled.

Islamist elements are still active however.

On Saturday, a suicide bomb attack near a security checkpoint killed at least five people in northern Baghdad. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for that bombing.

The bombings come as Iraq gears up for elections in May.

Mr Abadi has said he will stand for re-election in the parliamentary polls as the head of a new coalition.

Mr Abadi's newly created "Victory Alliance" will compete against the "State of Law" bloc of Mr Nuri al-Maliki, his predecessor and a key rival who now holds the post of vice-president.

Both Mr Abadi and Mr Maliki are members of the Shi'ite Dawa party.

Mr Abadi was little known when he became premier three years ago, after Mr Maliki ceded power to him in August 2014 amid ISIS' sweeping offensive across the country.

Since taking over, Mr Abadi has also rebuilt the armed forces and taken back disputed areas in the north from the Kurds, dashing their hopes for independence.

He has also succeeded in convincing the Hashed al-Shaabi, a Shi'ite-dominated paramilitary force that helped fight ISIS, to join his "Victory Alliance".

The Hashed, or Popular Mobilisation Units, are now seeking to become a key political player in Iraq after proving to be a formidable force on the battlefield.

In November, ISIS claimed an attack by suicide bombers on a market on the outskirts of Baghdad that killed 11 people.</s>Dozens of people have died and over 90 others injured in twin suicide bombings in Baghdad, Iraq</s>A double suicide bombing in central Baghdad has killed at least 38 people, Iraqi officials said.

Police officers and health officials said Monday’s early-morning attack also wounded 105 other people.

Interior Ministry spokesman Major General Saad Maan said the rush-hour attack struck at the city’s Tayran Square.

The area around the square is usually crowded by labourers seeking work.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack but it bore the hallmarks of the Islamic State group, which has claimed many such attacks in the past.

Militant attacks have decreased significantly in Baghdad and other parts of Iraq since the country’s security forces retook nearly all territory once held by IS.
A double suicide bombing kills at least 35 people and injures over 90 in Baghdad, Iraq.