Iraq blast toll exceeds 200
Iraqis on Monday mourned more than 200 people killed in a Baghdad suicide bombing claimed by the Islamic State (IS) group and accused the government of not doing enough to protect them.
The search continued for bodies at the site of the attack, which ripped through the Karrada district early on Sunday as it teemed with shoppers ahead of this week’s holiday marking the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramzan.
Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced efforts to address longstanding security flaws in Baghdad following the blast, which came a week after Iraqi forces recaptured the city of Fallujah from IS.
But on the streets, Iraqis were angry at the government’s inability to keep residents safe, even as its forces push IS back outside the capital.
Three days of mourning
As Iraq marked three days of national mourning, security and medical officials told AFP the number of dead from the attack had risen to at least 213. More than 200 were wounded, they said.
In Karrada, a young man lit a candle on a staircase leading to the basement of one charred building, adding to dozens of others left by mourners at the site of the bombing, which sparked infernos in nearby buildings.
Down the stairs, young men dug through the ashes using shovels and their hands, searching for those still missing after the blast.
Mr. Abadi was met with an angry response when he visited the site of the attack on Sunday.
But the Premier struck a conciliatory tone.
“I understand the emotional feelings and actions that occurred in a moment of sadness and anger,” Mr. Abadi said in a statement.
IS claimed the attack in a statement saying it was carried out by an Iraqi as part of “ongoing security operations”.
With thousands of vehicles moving in and out of the city each day, such bombings are difficult to prevent.
But there are also flaws in security measures in the city, especially the use of fake bomb detectors at checkpoints years after the man who sold them to Iraq was jailed for fraud in Britain.
Mr. Abadi announced a series of security changes after Sunday’s bombing, including scrapping the fake detectors.
5 executed
Iraq executed five convicts on Monday, the justice ministry said, linking the timing of the executions to the Baghdad suicide bombing the previous day. The ministry said it wanted families bereaved in the bombing to know “that their brothers in the justice ministry are continuing to deliver just punishment to those whose hands are stained with the blood of Iraqis”.
Jordan had responded in a similar way last year, executing two jihadist prisoners after IS had burned alive one of its pilots whose plane was downed over Syria.
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