Suicide Attack in Shia-Dominated Kadhimayn Neighborhood of Baghdad

On Sunday, July 25, a suicide bomb explosion at a checkpoint at the entrance of the Kadhimayn neighborhood in Baghdad left at least 12 dead and 22 injured. The Kadhimayn neighborhood, located north of Baghdad, is a Shia area that houses the shrines of two Shia Imams, Musa ibn Ja'far (Kazim) and Muhammad Taqi (Jawad). According to the Kadhimayn hospital officials, the condition of several of the injured from this bombing is critical, and the death toll may rise. No group has claimed responsibility for this explosion yet, but previously, the Islamic State (ISIS) has carried out similar suicide attacks against Shia in Baghdad and other parts of Iraq. In recent weeks, attacks against Shia in Iraq have intensified, with an incident on July 13 where a suicide bomber targeted a police checkpoint in the Shia neighborhood of Rashidiya, resulting in 8 deaths and at least 20 injuries. The Rashidiya neighborhood was also the site of a car bomb explosion the day before that left at least 12 dead. On July 18, at least 35 people were killed during suicide attacks and shootings by ISIS militants at the 'Sayed Muhammad' shrine in the city of Balad in Samarra, with at least 60 others injured. Earlier, on July 13, several suicide bombings in Baghdad resulted in around 300 deaths and dozens of injuries. The July 13 attacks are considered the deadliest suicide attacks in Iraq's capital since the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003, with ISIS claiming responsibility for these explosions. Following the July 13 attacks in Baghdad, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi dismissed three senior security officials in Baghdad. In this context, the Iraqi Defense Minister stated that preparations must be made to assist two million people in Mosul, while General Votel indicated that the U.S. may need more military forces in Iraq. The dismissal of three senior security officials in Baghdad followed the recent explosions that resulted in dozens of deaths in ISIS attacks on one of the sacred sites of Shia in Iraq, with the death toll from the 'deadliest' suicide bombing since the fall of Saddam in Baghdad reaching 292.