This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Baghdad • The Islamic State (IS) claimed responsibility for a Baghdad mall attack Monday that killed 18 people. Gunmen stormed into the Jawhara Mall after setting off a car bomb and launching a suicide attack at its entrance.
Iraqi officials say the attack lasted over an hour, killed at least 18 people and wounded 50 in the city's mainly Shiite east.
The IS statement, posted online shortly after the attack, said a car bomb and four IS fighters carried out the attack, targeting an area where many Shiite Muslims are known to gather and warned of "worse" to come. Iraqi officials say the attack was carried out by seven men, one of whom died when he detonated his explosive vest at the start of the attack. The conflicting accounts could not immediately be reconciled.
Iraqi forces soon surrounded the building and landed troops on the roof. They clashed with the attackers inside, killing two of them, and arresting the other four. At least four police officers were among those killed in the assault. After the attack, authorities shut down the city's highly fortified Green Zone, home to a number of foreign embassies and most of the country's political elite.