Violence in Iraq as Banghdad blasts claim at least 83 lives

HOURS after the tragic events in Bangladesh, Daesh have claimed responsibility for a second major terror attack, with at least 83 people dead and 176 wounded following two separate bombings in Baghdad.

A car exploded close to a restaurant and a busy shopping area in the Karada neighbourhood of the Iraqi capital, with the streets crowded as citizens broke their daily fast for the holy month of Ramadan.

This blast accounted for the majority of the carnage, with a second device detonated in a Shia-dominated area north of the city centre, killing an additional five people and wounding 16.

Daesh considers Shia Muslims to be heretics and has targeted the group, which forms a majority in Iraq, on numerous occasions.

Emergency services continued to remove bodies as they battled to extinguish the blaze in Karada on the morning of Sunday July 3, following the explosion late on Saturday.

The latest attacks, among the deadliest in Iraq this year, come a week after Iraqi security forces recaptured the city of Falluja from Daesh militants.

Iraq’s prime minister, Haider al-Abadi, attended the site, with social media videos depicting a furious crowd bellowing “thief” at his entourage.