Twenty-four people died and another 67 were wounded in Baghdad on Monday, after a car bomb planted by the Islamic State exploded in the city’s Sadr City district.
The Sunni-led Islamic State was targeting a gathering of Shiite Muslims, according to the Amaq news agency, which supports the Islamic State. The attack follows a blast Saturday that killed 29 people.
The Islamic State is putting up a strong resistance in Mosul, a city to the north of Baghdad which is the group’s last major stronghold in the country. Fighting continued around the area Monday, as Iraq’s counter-terrorism service blew up a number of car bombs planted by the Islamic State before they detonated. The counter-terrorism service also advanced in North Karma district, a fourth area the unit has retaken recently.
But the Islamic State succeeded in cutting a strategic road linking Mosul to Baghdad, targeting state forces away from the main areas of fighting. The group killed at least 16 pro-government fighters.
If U.S.-backed Iraqi forces retake the area, the Islamic State could continue fighting only through guerrilla-style warfare or plotting attacks in the West.
