Breaking: 13 killed in twin suicide bombings in Baghdad

BAGHDAD: At least 13 people were killed in rare twin suicide bombings in a commercial district of Iraq's capital city of Baghdad on Thursday, the country's joint operations command said. This follows a period of relative calm in the Iraq capital.

Another 19 people were wounded, the joint operations command said, calling it a "preliminary toll."

According to reports, two suicide bombers detonated their explosives as they were being pursued by security forces.

Journalists at the scene said the bombers had struck a huge open-air market for second-hand clothes in Tayaran Square.

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The commercial area had been teeming with people following nearly a year of restrictions imposed in a bid to halt the spread of Covid-19.

After years of deadly sectarian violence, suicide bombings have become relatively rare in the capital.

The last such attack took place in June 2019 and left several people dead.

Security forces cordoned off the area and paramedics were working to help the casualties. Medical sources have said that the death toll could be twice as high as officially announced.

The health ministry said it had mobilized medics across the capital to respond to the deadly attack.

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