Twenty-one people have been killed and many more were injured when three bombs exploded around Baghdad earlier this week.
One bomb was set off in the Saydiyah area in the southern part of the Iraqi capital, resulting in 18 deaths and injuring 45 people, according to the Associated Press.
There were also bombs in Tarmiya, which left two dead, and one in Khalisa, killing one.
Islamic State (IS) has taken responsibility for the explosions in an online statement, attacking Shi’ite Muslims who were performing an annual pilgrimage in the city.
There were tens of thousands of Shi’ite Muslims heading through Baghdad this week, making their way to the shrine of Imam Moussa al-Kadhim, a great-grandson of Prophet Mohammad.
Police cordoned off the areas, blocking major roads to prevent more attacks occurring as the pilgrimage continues and more Muslims travel to the shrine on foot.
These bombings are just another attack from IS in Iraq, with the capital being hit by several explosions in the last few weeks.
Indeed, last Saturday (April 30th) saw a car explode in Baghdad, killing at least 19 people, while nine lost their lives from a blast on a Shi’ite mosque in south-west Baghdad just the week before.
IS claimed responsibility for both of these attacks, showing how vulnerable people in the city are. Blast protection window film could reduce the number of fatalities, as it helps prevent glass from shattering during an explosion.
This could prove incredibly valuable in Iraq, where the United Nations reported at least 741 people were killed and 1,374 were injured in April alone as a result of violence.
