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Dozens are dead in Baghdad after bombs were detonated across the city on Monday. ISIS has claimed responsibility for the bombings.

The death toll from the attacks is still climbing.

NPR's Alice Fordham reported on the bombings, telling our Newscast Unit:

 that at least 35 people were killed and at least 61 injured by the blast in Sadr City, which is a "predominantly Shia Muslim" neighborhood. The BBC wrote: "The Sunni jihadist group Islamic State said it had carried out the attack, which 'targeted a gathering of Shia.' "


Reuters reported that "nine of the victims were women in a passing minibus." The news service wrote: "Their charred bodies were visible inside the burnt-out remains of the vehicle. Blood stained the ground nearby."

The attacks followed other bombings in the city on Saturday, which killed 28 people, according to the BBC. Reuters wrote also wrote that "an attack near the southern city of Najaf on Sunday left seven policemen dead."

Monday's attacks coincide with an Iraq visit by French President Francois Hollande. Hollande gave a press conference with Iraqi prime minister Haider al Abadi, vowing to defeat ISIS.

"The terrorists will attempt to attack civilians in order to make up for their losses, but we assure the Iraqi people and the world that we are able to end terrorism and shorten its life," Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said, according to the BBC.


The ISIS bombings come as Iraqi security forces continue their offensive to push the self-proclaimed caliphate from the country. The U.S.-supported offensive was 

, as the Two-Way reported, and has recaptured part of the city of Mosul, the terrorist group's last major stronghold in Iraq.
According to Reuters, "Abadi has said the group will be driven out of the country by April."  Copyright 2019 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Laura Wagner

Author

Baghdad has seen a spate of deadly ISIS bombings in the last several days. On Monday alone, five blasts rocked the capital city, NPR's Alice Fordham reported.

Dozens dead in multiple ISIS bombings across Baghdad

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