Daesh storm Baghdad mall, killing 18

A group of armed men stormed the Jawhara Mall after two among them detonated their suicide vests and a auto bomb exploded, officials said.

A police captain, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to media, said the gunmen seized some of the mall patrons and clashed with police forces before detonating explosives.

The suicide bombers opened fire as they ran into the mall, however security guards shot one of them, discharging the bomb which then blew him up.

At least 27 people were wounded in the bomb blast, the Jerusalem Post reported.

A hospital official confirmed the death toll and said at least three attackers either killed themselves or were killed by the security forces. “When the security forces got too close, they killed three hostages”, he said. The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility, and it’s warning of “worse” to come.

A suicide bomber detonated an explosives-rigged vehicle at a checkpoint north of Baghdad on Tuesday, wounding a senior intelligence officer and killing four police, security officials said.

Earlier, an inside ministry supply had stated that the attackers entered the purchasing centre and held numerous civilians as hostages, leaving at the very least seven individuals killed, whereas 20 others have been injured through the attack.

Two bombs later went off, one in the eastern town of Muqdadiya, killing over 20 people, and one in southeastern Baghdad that killed a further seven according to police.

The attack also underscored what many fear will happen as the Islamic State loses territory in places like Ramadi: that the group will return to its days as a guerrilla force trying to instill terror by carrying out attacks en masse. “The perpetrators want to incite sectarian violence, in a desperate attempt to take the country back into the dark days of sectarian strife”, UN Iraq representative Jan Kubis said.

Iraq also fighting a multi-front war with the Islamic State, which last month was driven from a the city of Ramadi, about 80 miles west of Baghdad.