A suicide bomb claimed by ISIS killed at least seven people, including two police, when it exploded on Monday near a Shiite Muslim procession in a northern Baghdad neighborhood, police and medical sources said.
The explosion in Shaab, which the sources said left 23 wounded, was one of a relatively small number of attacks reported in Iraq over the weekend as Shiites across the Muslim world marked the holy day of Ashura.
The annual ritual, which commemorates the slaying of Prophet Mohammad's grandson Hussein in AD 680, has become a flashpoint for attacks over the last decade.
ISIS, the militant group that seized swathes of northern and western Iraq last year, claimed responsibility for the blast in a statement distributed online by supporters.
The group said the target was "rejectionists" - a derogatory term it uses to refer to Shiite Muslims. It said 20 people were killed and 40 wounded.
Reuters could not verify the authenticity of the statement.
A spokesman for the Interior Ministry confirmed that the blast, caused by an assailant wearing an explosive vest, had resulted in several deaths and injuries.
Security during Ashura has been tight in recent years since suspected al-Qaeda suicide bombers and mortar fire killed 171 people during the rituals in Karbala and Baghdad in 2004, though attacks have continued. (Reuters)
The explosion in Shaab, which the sources said left 23 wounded, was one of a relatively small number of attacks reported in Iraq over the weekend as Shiites across the Muslim world marked the holy day of Ashura.
The annual ritual, which commemorates the slaying of Prophet Mohammad's grandson Hussein in AD 680, has become a flashpoint for attacks over the last decade.
ISIS, the militant group that seized swathes of northern and western Iraq last year, claimed responsibility for the blast in a statement distributed online by supporters.
The group said the target was "rejectionists" - a derogatory term it uses to refer to Shiite Muslims. It said 20 people were killed and 40 wounded.
Reuters could not verify the authenticity of the statement.
A spokesman for the Interior Ministry confirmed that the blast, caused by an assailant wearing an explosive vest, had resulted in several deaths and injuries.
Security during Ashura has been tight in recent years since suspected al-Qaeda suicide bombers and mortar fire killed 171 people during the rituals in Karbala and Baghdad in 2004, though attacks have continued. (Reuters)
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