Car bomb carnage
A car bombing claimed by Islamic State kills at least 52 people in Baghdad.
BAGHDAD: A car bombing claimed by the Islamic State(IS) killed at least 63 people at a market in a Shia area of north Baghdad yesterday, officials said.
The blast, the single deadliest attack in the Iraqi capital this year, comes as the government is locked in a political crisis that some have warned could undermine the fight against the IS.
The bombing, which hit the Sadr City area at around 10am, also wounded at least 85 people, the officials said.
Four medical officials confirmed the casualty figures. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity as they are not authorised to release the information to reporters.
Authorities fear the death toll is likely to increase.
The blast set nearby shops on fire and left debris including the charred, twisted remains of a vehicle in the street.
Karim Salih, a 45-year old grocer, said the bomb was a pickup truck loaded with fruits and vegetables that was parked by a man who quickly disappeared among the crowds of people.
“It was such a thunderous explosion that jolted the ground,’’ Mr Salih tsaid.
“The force of the explosion threw me for metres and I lost conscious for a few minutes,’’ the merchant added. He suffered no injuries, but two of his workers were wounded.
Dozens of angry people gathered at the scene of the bombing, blaming the government for the carnage.
“The state is in a conflict over [government positions] and the people are the victims,” said a man named Abu Ali, adding: “The politicians are behind the explosion.” Abu Muntadhar echoed his anger. “The state is responsible for the bombings that hit civilians,” he said. The politicians “should all get out.”
Cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, who spearheaded a protest movement demanding a cabinet reshuffle and other reforms, has a huge following in the working class neighbourhood of Sadr City, which was named after his father.
The IS issued an online statement claiming responsibility for the attack.
It said a suicide bomber it identified as “Abu Sulaiman al-Ansari” detonated the explosives-rigged vehicle.
The IS, which overran large areas of Iraq and Syria in 2014, considers Shias, who make up the majority of Iraq’s population, to be heretics and often targets them with bombings.
Iraqi forces have regained significant ground from the IS, but the jihadists still control a large part of western Iraq, and are able to carry out frequent bombings in government-held areas.
While IS has suffered a number of territorial defeats in the past year, the militants are still capable of launching significant attacks across the country, and have recently stepped-up assaults inside Baghdad, something officials say is an attempt to distract from their recent battlefield defeats.
Iraq’s legislature has been paralysed by a political crisis over replacing the cabinet that the United States and the United Nations have warned could undermine the fight against the IS.
Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has sought to replace the cabinet of partyaffiliated ministers with a government of technocrats, a move opposed by powerful parties that rely on control of ministries for patronage and funds.
Angry demonstrators broke into Baghdad’s fortified Green Zone and stormed parliament after lawmakers again failed to approve new ministers last month.
While the protesters withdrew the following day, parliament has still yet to hold another session.
According to the United Nations, at least 741 Iraqis were killed in April due to ongoing violence. The UN mission to Iraq put the number of civilians killed at 410, while the rest it said were members of the security forces.