The militant group Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) on Monday launched a series of attacks in Iraq, killing at least 43 people, with the victims mostly from the majority Shiite community.

A bomber blew himself up in the capital city of Baghdad while inside a mosque in a central commercial district as worshippers were about to leave the place after their Monday midday prayers. This first attack claimed the lives of at least 17 and injured 28 others, reports Daily Star.

Like Us on Facebook

Meanwhile, four bombs detonated simultaneously in different locations in Karbala, killing 26 people and wounding 55 more victims, police officials disclosed. Karbala, located 90 kilometers south of Baghdad, has year-round pilgrimages because the tombs of two revered Shiite imams are found in the city.

The officer said the explosives were planted in vehicles parked in commercial centers and parking lots near government offices.

The Monday attacks followed another suicide bombing incident on Sunday that hit a Shiite mosque in Baghdad wherein 28 people died. Although no one claimed responsibilities for these two days of attacks, authorities believe it is the handiwork of the ISIS, reports Reuters, since it aimed to instill fear among residents and pressure the new government in Baghdad led by Shiites.

The fresh round of attacks is considered the worst crisis faced by the new Iraqi government since U.S. troops left the country by the end of 2011.

On the same day of the attacks, new Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi met with Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, the top Shiite cleric, in Najaf - a southern city. Sistani, who rarely appears in public, welcomed the new government led by Abadi.

After the meeting, Abadi told media, quoted by Daily Star, "We had a long and hard mission ahead of us. He added, "One of the missions is related to security. We need arms and we need to reconstruct our security forces."

The PM is slated to go to Tehran and meet with Iranian officials to tackle how to address the country's battle against the ISIS.

Besides mounting the Monday attacks, ISIS militants also moved toward the Iraqi town of Qara Tappa by pretending to be Kurdish pesmerga fighters, according to Kurdish security forces. The militants captured two Kurdish villages by catching the Kurdish fighters unawares and then attacked Qara Tappa, located 120 kilometers north of Baghdad, in their bid to further widen ISIS' territory.

The area has a mixture of Sunni Arabs, Kurds and Turkmen who came under Kurdish control after the group took advantage of the fall of most Sunni territories in June to ISIS fighters.

A peshmerga fighter recalled, "The terrorists were wearing peshmerga uniforms and this tactic helped them to easily infiltrate our defenses near Qara Tappa.

TagsIraq government, bombing