A suicide bomber blew up his car near a crowded outdoor market northeast of Baghdad on Tuesday morning, killing at least 11 people and injuring at least 32 more in the predominantly Shiite district.
The incident occurred after a man drove a pick-up truck loaded with explosives that went off during rush hour at the fruit and vegetable market in the al-Rashidiya district. Police were forced to shut down several major roads around Baghdad as a result of the attack.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but it was very similar to recent attacks carried out by IS in neighboring towns.
In two separate attacks last week, IS killed more than 300 people with suicide car bombs. In the first attack, a truck blew up in a crowded commercial area in another Shiite neighborhood in Baghdad called Karada. With 292 people killed, it was recorded as one of the deadliest attacks in Iraq since the U.S. invasion in 2003. In another attack last Thursday, 37 people were killed during an attack on a Shiite shrine north of Baghdad.
IS attacks have occurred with more frequency as of late, which prompted U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter earlier this week to commit 560 more U.S. troops to Iraq to help fight the terrorist group.
Carter said the new American forces will arrive within the next few weeks, and will be primarily tasked with transforming an air base that was recaptured from ISIS earlier this month into a staging area for the battle to retake Mosul.
