ISLAMIC STATE CLAIMS RESPONSIBILITY FOR BAGHDAD MARKET BLAST

The Islamic State militant group on Friday claimed responsibility for an explosion at a market in the Iraqi capital Baghdad the previous day, Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa) reported.

The blast in the mostly Shiite City of Sadr in eastern Baghdad left at least one civilian dead and 12 others injured, according to security sources. The explosion was caused by an explosive device attached to a parked car at the market, Baghdad police said.

Islamic State claimed in the Friday statement that a "detachment of the caliphate soldiers" parked and detonated a car bomb in the city targeting a Shiite crowd and killing or injuring 20 people.

The Sunni extremists regard Muslim Shiites as heretics. The statement could not be verified independently.

In January, Islamic State claimed responsibility for a twin suicide attack that killed at least 32 people in central Baghdad, the most serious attack in the city in about three years.

In December 2017, Iraq declared victory over Islamic State, having recaptured all the territory seized by the extremists since 2014. However, members of the terror group have continued to carry out scattered attacks across the war-torn country.

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