A man walks past the aftermath of a suicide car bombing in a commercial area in Baghdad's southwestern Amil neighborhood, Iraq, Tuesday, March 21, 2017. A suicide car bombing in Baghdad killed and wounded many people Monday, according to police and medical officials. (AP Photo/Karim Kadim)
March 21, 2017 - 1:37 AM
BAGHDAD - The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for a car bombing in Baghdad that killed 27 people the previous day, shattering a relative lull in the Iraqi capital.
The Sunni militant group says in an online statement posted on an IS-affiliated website hours after the attack that a militant parked the explosive-laden car in the commercial area of Baghdad's Shiite-dominated southwestern Amil neighbourhood.
Earlier, Iraqi officials had described the bombing as a suicide attack.
Iraqi authorities on Tuesday raised the causality figures to 27 dead and 45 wounded and said five people were still missing following Monday's attack. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to reporters.
In mid-February, a car bombing in Baghdad killed at least 59 people and wounded 66 others.
News from © The Associated Press, 2017