Twin suicide bombing strikes Baghdad

Pools of blood marked where a twin suicide bombing struck Baghdad on Thursday (January 21), the first such attack in years.

At least 28 people were killed. But with more than 70 wounded, officials said the toll could rise.

Suicide bombings have become rare in the Iraqi capital since Islamic State was defeated in 2017.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

But Iraqi authorities called it a terrorist incident, and the head of Iraq's civil defense said Islamic State could have been behind it.

Iraq's military said two attackers wearing explosive vests blew themselves up among shoppers at a crowded market in Tayaran Square, in central Baghdad.

This street vendor saw one of them.

"We were there by the stands. He came, fell to the ground and started complaining 'my stomach is hurting' and he pressed the detonator in his hand. It exploded immediately. People were torn to pieces. A lot of people died."

The last deadly suicide blast to strike the city was also at Tayaran Square, in January 2018. Twenty-seven people were killed.

Islamic State militants remain in Iraq, waging an insurgency against Iraqi forces and attacking local officials in parts of the north.

Government and military officials believe Islamic State is no longer capable of taking over significant territory, but expect it to continue to wage attacks that threaten Iraq's stability and security.