Car bomb attack kills at least 23, injures dozens in Iraq’s capital

At least 23 people have been killed and 45 others injured in a car bomb blast in the west of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad.

The explosion took place in the busy Shia business district of Hay al-Amil on Monday evening.

According to AFP, hours after the attack, it was claimed in an online statement by the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group, which gave a toll of 23 dead.

The Takfiri terrorists have suffered a string of defeats in Iraq over the past two years, but have continued to regularly carry out attacks in and around Baghdad.

A series of bombings claimed by Daesh have struck the Iraqi capital since the beginning of an operation to retake the northern Iraqi city of Mosul.

Iraqi army soldiers and allied fighters have been engaged in the offensive to retake Mosul, the Daesh Takfiri terrorists’ last stronghold in the Arab country, since October 2016.

Iraqi forces took control of eastern Mosul in January after 100 days of fighting and launched the battle in the western part of the city on February 19.

Speaking last Tuesday, Prime Minster Haider al-Abadi said the military operation aimed at liberating western Mosul was “in its last stage.”

Abadi reiterated his vow that the remaining terrorists who surrender would be given a fair trial, but that those who continue to fight against Iraqi forces will “definitely be killed.”

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