Updated at 10:35 a.m. ET
A twin suicide bombing at a Baghdad market killed at least 32 people and injured 110 others on Thursday, according to Iraq's health ministry. Of the injured, 36 are being treated in hospitals.
Two suicide bombers detonated their vests when security forces pursued them through the busy Tayaran square market. The first claimed he was ill, causing a crowd to form around him before he detonated the bomb he wore, a security official told The Associated Press.
An interior ministry spokesman tweeted that the second bomber set off his device after people gathered around those dead and wounded from the first bombing.
There was no immediate claim for the bombings, which have become rare in the Iraqi capital since the Islamic State was largely defeated in the country in 2017. The last took place in Jan. 2018, according to AP.
Maj. Gen. Tahsin al-Khafaji, a Joint Operations Command spokesman, said it was a "terrorist act perpetrated by a sleeper cell of the Islamic State," according to AP.
"This attack is a reprehensible act of cowardice that underscores the dangers of terrorism that millions of Iraqis continue to face," the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad wrote in a statement. "We extend our condolences to the families of these victims, and hope for the swift recovery for those who were injured."
Although ISIS has been greatly weakened, with the help of Iraq's international allies, militant groups still conduct operations. Earlier this week, the electricity ministry reported coordinated attacks on power lines, power stations and other infrastructure, causing millions of dollars worth of damage to the already-shaky electricity sector.
The Trump administration reduced troop numbers in Iraq, but about 2,500 U.S. soldiers remain in the country. Incoming Defense Secretary General Lloyd Austin said in his confirmation hearing that he remains concerned about the threat ISIS poses inside Iraq and beyond.
"I support maintaining a small number of U.S. troops to carry out a limited mission focused on advising and assisting Iraqi counter-terrorism forces to deal with the continuing threat from ISIS," he told the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Iraq analyst and Baghdad resident Hamzeh Hadad says the attack was shocking because the overall security situation in the Iraqi capital has improved dramatically in recent years. Fewer checkpoints and blast walls mean, "you're slowly seeing the beauty of the city come back to life," he says. "Things are busier again, markets are bustling."
Hadad moved from Canada back to Iraq in 2019, partly because the danger of such attacks appeared to have been reduced.
"So to have something like this re-occur — that hasn't happened in a few years — is really shocking and worrying for everyday Iraqis," he says.
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