A terrorist attack killed at least four people and injured another 20 this Tuesday (7) in Basra, southern Iraq. It is the first attack in years in the region where there is relative stability, and authorities suspect it was the work of the Islamic State (EI).
The explosion, near a large hospital, was caused by a motorcycle equipped with explosives, according to a statement released by the Iraqi military, and set fire to two other vehicles.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but Basra Governor Asaad al-Edani told reporters the explosion “has the fingerprints” of the Islamic State. “The Daesh [como o EI é chamado no paÃs] is trying to destabilize security in Basra, but it will not succeed,” he said.
The fundamentalist faction was responsible for the latest terrorist attack in Basra, which took place in 2017. Since then, Iraqi authorities have maintained tight security controls over the region, where most of the country’s oil is produced and exported.
According to witnesses, the police had to collect the body parts of people who were inside a minibus hit by the explosion. The street was covered with broken glass and blood, and the governor announced three days of official mourning.
“Basra is no longer safe today,” Mohammed Ibrahim, a mechanic whose workshop is near the explosion site, told Reuters news agency. “Today and after this terrorist act, the people of Basra must definitely be cautious and careful.”
In December 2017, Iraq declared victory over Islamic State after receiving support from a US-led coalition. The fundamentalist group was then expelled from areas where it had proclaimed itself an Islamic caliphate.
ISIS, however, continues to be held responsible for sporadic attacks, particularly in northern Iraq. On Sunday, four Kurdish fighters were killed and five wounded at a military post north of the city of Kirkuk.
According to local authorities, it was the third attack in less than two weeks. In late November, another five Kurdish fighters died in a similar episode, and last Thursday (2), three civilians and nine soldiers were killed by jihadists near the town of Erbil.
Before being expelled in 2017, ISIS conquered several territories in Iraq —where it came to dominate two-thirds of the country— and Syria.
Currently, according to a report by the United Nations, the group “maintains a clandestine presence” and “leads an insurgency” on the border between the two countries, with at least 10,000 active fighters. The latest major attack claimed by the Islamic State left at least 30 people dead in a market in the capital, Baghdad.
Iraq is also experiencing a backdrop of growing political instability, particularly after parliamentary elections held in October, in which the Shiite Moqtada al-Sadr party won. Since then, however, armed factions opposing the cleric have challenged the results, alleging fraud.
A month ago, the official residence of Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi was the target of an attack by drones loaded with explosives. Authorities described the action as an assassination attempt, but the prime minister was unharmed.
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