New bombings bring death toll to 88 across Baghdad

Iraqi police and hospital officials said Wednesday that two bombings in Baghdad have left more than 25 dead and 56 wounded Wednesday, bringing the day’s total death toll to 88.

A suicide car bomb targeting a police station in Baghdad’s northwest Kadhimiyah neighborhood killed 18, of whom five were policemen. The attack also wounded 34.

In northern Baghdad a suicide car bomb in the neighborhood of Jamiya killed seven and wounded 22. Earlier Wednesday a car bombing of an outdoor market in Sadr City killed at least 63 people.

All officials spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to brief the press.

The earlier car bombing was claimed by the Islamic State jihadist group. It was the single deadliest attack this year in the capital.

The blast came as the government is locked in a political crisis that some have warned could undermine the fight against IS.

It set nearby shops on fire and left debris including the charred, twisted remains of a vehicle in the street.

Dozens of angry people gathered at the scene of the bombing, blaming the government for the carnage.

“The state is in a conflict over (government positions) and the people are the victims,” said a man named Abu Ali. “The politicians are behind the explosion.”

Abu Muntadhar echoed his anger.

“The state is responsible for the bombings that hit civilians,” the local resident said. The politicians “should all get out.”

Cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, who spearheaded a protest movement demanding a cabinet reshuffle and other reforms, has a huge following in the working class neighborhood of Sadr City, which was named after his father.

IS issued an online statement claiming responsibility for the attack.

It said a suicide bomber it identified as “Abu Sulaiman al-Ansari” detonated the explosives-rigged vehicle.