Baghdad Devastated By Vehicular IED

Early Sunday morning, on July 3rd, a refrigerator truck packed with explosives was detonated near the popular al-Hadi Centre in Baghdad. At the time of the explosion in the Karrada district, many Iraqis were celebrating a long day of fasting while others were shopping with their families.

The attack occurred around midnight, with footage at the scene showing buildings and streets engulfed in flames just after the detonation. Rescuers who arrived said that whole groups had been wiped out during the blast and that many victims were beyond recognition. So far, the bombing has taken the lives of 175 people in an area known to predominately inhabit Shiite Muslims.

The bombardment in the Karrada district is one of the most lethal attacks during the month of Ramadan and occurred just days before the final celebrations of the holiday, in what is known as Eid al-Fitr. On Monday, July 4th, during the official announcement of the three-day long festival that closes out the Islamic holy month, Saudi officials reported that suicide bombers had attacked security officers near the Al-Haram Al-Nabawi Mosque. The mosque is thought to be the place where Mohammad is buried and is the second holiest site for Muslims. Islamic State is suspected of conducting the mosque attack, one day after it claimed responsibility for the bombing in Baghdad.

In response to the massacre, Iraqi Prime Minister Abadi declared three days of national mourning, in light of what Mohamed al-Rubaye, the deputy head of the security committee of the Baghdad Provincial Council, said was the single deadliest attack in the Iraqi capital in years. According to the spokesman, the suffering from the attack was tremendous with 175 still wounded, and he illustrated that the carnage was so severe, that 81 victims remain unidentified due to the severity of their burns.

After vast amounts of public backlash and scrutiny over Abadi’s inability to secure his people in wake of the truck bombing, the Prime Minister announced his intent to increase security measures. He outlined  plans to increase vehicular inspections at checkpoints around Baghdad, in addition to scrapping the country’s use of the “magic wand.”

Until the Prime Minister’s announcement, the “magic wand” hand-held device was still being used at Iraqi checkpoints despite being outed in 2010 as a phony bomb detector. The ADE651 devices were initially created as golf ball finders but sold to Iraq and other nations under the guise that they could detect explosives. After the scandal broke roughly five years ago, an Iraqi security officer recently confirmed that the devices were still in use throughout the country.

In a similar effort to demonstrate its security competence, the Iraqi state executed five convicted terrorists on Monday, July 4th. The Ministry of Justice confirmed the state sponsored killings as part of their larger effort to restore the faith in Iraqi security forces and government in the wake of the devastating bombings.

Karrada, beside being a hotbed of sectarian conflict since the Shiite population took control of the district in 2006, is host to the Kata’ib Hezbollah, a prominent Iranian-back Shiite militia currently combating Islamic State in Iraq. This aspect of the Karrada district could outline why it was targeted by the Islamic State in the July 3rd Baghdad bombing.

Despite significant territorial losses on the battlefield, Islamic State continues to demonstrate its operational capability by conducting mass killings globally. In the last week, the group has been linked to terrorist operations in Turkey, Bangladesh, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia. The organization’s recent territorial losses in Fallujah appear to have no effect on hindering the jihadist group’s capacity or effectiveness in conducting operations. Ultimately, the Baghdad bombing, in addition to the larger string of Ramadan IS-linked attacks, is an attempt to undermine state government security, while simultaneously illustrating the continuing presence and ability of IS internationally.