BAGHDAD — The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the Baghdad mall attack that killed 18 people Monday. Gunmen stormed into the Jawhara Mall after setting off a car bomb and launching a suicide attack at its entrance.
Iraqi officials say the attack, which lasted more than an hour, resulted in at least 18 people dead and 50 wounded in the city’s mainly Shiite east.
The Islamic State statement, posted online after the attack, said a car bomb and four fighters carried out the attack, targeting an area where many Shiite Muslims are known to gather and warned of “worse” to come. Iraqi officials say the attack was carried out by seven men, one of whom died when he detonated his explosive vest. The conflicting accounts could not immediately be reconciled.
Iraqi officials initially described the attack as a hostage situation, estimating that 50 people were trapped inside the complex. But Iraqi forces soon surrounded the building and landed troops on the roof. They clashed with the attackers inside, killing two of them and arresting the other four.
At least four police officers were among those killed in the assault, which lasted about 90 minutes, according to police and medical officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief reporters.
