ISIS takes credit for massive suicide bombings in Iraq that killed 32 people.

 

Iraqi troops stand guard near the site of the bombing. Reuters.

ISIS has taken credit for a massive suicide bombing in Iraq that has killed 32 people and is the first attack since 2018. Reuters. ISIS took credit for the attack on Telegram. Witnesses say there were two bombers and one of them drew people in by complaining of stomach pain before he blew himself up. Suicide bombings were once common across Iraq but since ISIS was defeated in 2017, the attacks have not happened since another bombing in the same market in 2018. The attack bring with it worries that ISIS may be returning. 

My Comment:

This was a fairly major ISIS attack and the worst one in recent memory. A lot of people died and even more were injured. But even more important that the deaths and injuries is the implications. The timing was terrible, Biden has been installed as President and we have a new foreign policy and I am guessing this attack in Iraq will change things.

First things first though, is ISIS resurgent? I don't really think so. They don't control any territory, most of their leadership is dead and they have no real way to gain international recruits. I haven't seen any evidence that they have regrouped enough to become a new threat. They aren't capable of taking territory.

But they were always capable of launching terror attacks, even reasonably major ones like this. For a suicide bombing you only need a few things. A bombmaker, explosives and a couple of people that are willing to die. The latter two are in no short supply in Iraq. 

The bombmaker though? It's a problem. Taking out whoever made these bombs should be the major priority of whoever is in charge of Iraq's military response. Like I said, they are not going to get a handle on the availability of explosives in Iraq any time soon and there are a ton of people there willing to die for the cause of ISIS. But if you kill the bombmaker you greatly disrupt any terror plots as it takes skill to make a bomb without blowing yourself up while at the same time making sure it explodes as planned. 

Much more concerning for me personally is the response from the Biden White House. He and Obama were warmongers and he is likely to want to reverse any and all troop withdrawals from the Middle East. This ISIS attack could serve as a perfect excuse to send more troops into Iraq, perhaps as a precursor to war with Iran or Syria. 

Hopefully it won't come to that but I have zero faith in the Biden administration to even attempt to do the right thing. Though ISIS is bad news they are no longer the threat they used to be. They should not be used as an excuse to send thousands of troops back into Iraq.