Iraq Conflict: Two Bombings In Baghdad Kill At Least 21 As Iraqi Forces Slow ISIS Advance On Capital City

Two bombings in Baghdad have killed at least 21 people on Sunday. A suicide bomber targeted a market near the city's Tahrir Square, while a car bomb exploded in southern part of the city early Sunday morning.

The New York Times reports the suicide bomber attacked a market in the Al-Bab Al-Sharqi neighborhood in central Baghdad. Officials said nine people were killed when the bomber set off an explosive vest; witnesses said 15 people were killed with at least eight others wounded. Volunteers looking to join the Iraqi military were reportedly at the market at the time of the attack.

In the Bab al-Sheikh neighborhood, a car bomb exploded near a bus station, killing 12 and wounding 30, notes the Times.

The two attacks in Baghdad follow reports of a halt in the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria’s (ISIS) advance on Baghdad. ISIS continues to control Mosul and Tikrit but Iraqi forces, bolstered by Iranian troops and volunteers, have regained territories from the Sunni militants. On Saturday, the U.S. Department of Defense confirmed it sent its newest aircraft carrier, the U.S.S. George H.W. Bush, to the North Arabian Sea. According to the BBC, fighting is heaviest in Tal Afar, a city west of Mosul, while Iraqi forces are heading to Samarra in a possible attempt to regain Tikrit. The New York Times reports ISIS has not advanced towards Baghdad for a second straight day and the Sunni militants are 60 miles north of Iraq's capital city.