Death toll hits 59 in Baghdad car bombing claimed by Islamic State
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Reporting from BAGHDAD — A police officer and medical sources said Friday that the death toll from a car bomb attack in a southern Baghdad neighborhood has reached 59, with 66 others injured.
The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack.
Islamic State, in a statement issued early Friday, said its fighters detonated a parked car among a gathering of Shiites in the Fifth Police neighborhood south of Baghdad on Thursday. It did not give further details.
The officials detailing the death toll spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief reporters.
Baghdad has been the scene of near daily bomb attacks claimed by Islamic State in what is seen as an attempt to distract attention as the militants cede territory along front lines in northern and western Iraq.
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