Saturday night’s bomb attack casualty toll by yesterday afternoon rose 165 people killed and 225 others injured.
Iraqis are mourning the over 165 people killed in Saturday, July 3, 2016 night bomb attack in the capital Baghdad, BBC reported. CNN news agency on its part said yesterday that the death toll had risen to 200, citing the Deputy head of the security committee of the Baghdad Provincial Council, Mohamed al-Rubaye, of saying in a televised phone interview. Government declared three days of mourning following the deadly attack.
Interior Ministry officials disclosed on Monday, July 4 afternoon that the death toll in the attack in the Karrada neighbourhood of the capital had risen to 165 and 225 others injured believed to be the deadliest single bomb attack in the country since 2007, BBC reported. Speaking after the attack, UN Iraq envoy Jan Kubis said Islamic State (IS) militants who have "suffered defeats at the battlefront are seeking to avenge their losses by targeting vulnerable civilians", BBC quoted. The United States of America government officials on their part said, the attack strengthened its resolve to support Iraqi forces in their fight against IS.
The declarations were made following a statement from the IS that it carried out the suicide attack. Reports say a lorry packed with explosives was detonated in the Karrada district while families were shopping for the holiday marking the end of Ramadan. Rescuers said whole families had been killed. Many people were badly burned.
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi visited the site of the attack. A statement from his office reportedly said he understood the reaction of residents and would increase security by banning “magic wand” and fake bomb detectors and improving vehicle inspections at roads into Bagdad.
BBC further reported that a second bomb exploded shortly afterwards in another predominantly Shia area north of the capital, Baghdad killing another five people. The suicide bomb attacks in the Iraqi capital came a week after Iraqi forces recaptured the city of Falluja from the Islamic State (IS) militants.
