The Islamic State behind the massacre in a Baghdad market the day before yesterday

The Islamic State (IS) jihadist group claimed responsibility for Friday’s bombing in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad.

A car bomb had exploded at an Iraqi police recruiting center at Kisak, west of Baghdad.resulted in four people being killed and 17 injured, sources close to the police and doctors reported the day before yesterday. The Iraqi army gave a different account the same day, announcing that the explosion claimed the life of one civilian and injured 12 others, while charring cars.

The Islamic State claimed yesterday that the explosion was an act of a “detachment of soldiers of the caliphate”, targeting Shiites and that resulted in 20 people being killed or injured. The Sunni extremist group considers Shiites – who make up the majority of Iraqis – to be heretics.

The claim of the terrorist organization could not be verified by independent sources. The day before yesterday, Iraqi officials had disputed, speaking to Agence France-Presse, that it was a “terrorist” act, according to their vocabulary when referring to the Islamic State, estimating that it was an accident while transporting explosives on behalf of a Shiite paramilitary organization.

In January, the Islamic State claimed responsibility for a twin suicide bombing that killed at least 32 people in central Baghdad. It was the deadliest terrorist attack in the city in almost three years.

In 2017, the then Iraqi government declared its “victory” over the ISIS, after regaining all the territories occupied by the jihadists in a sweeping, lightning strike in 2014. However, Islamic State cells remain active and launch sporadic attacks.