ISIL STRIKES IN BAGHDAD
Bombing kills at least 121
At least 121 people died in a bomb attack on a busy shopping street in the Iraqi capital in the early hours of Sunday morning, as Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant militants target civilians amid losses on the battlefield.
Another 212 people were injured in the bombing and the ensuing fire in Baghdad’s Karrada neighbourhood, according to a senior official from Iraq’s Health Ministry, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release the information. The death toll is expected to climb further, as many suffering from burn injuries are in critical condition, he said.
The attack, claimed by ISIL, was the deadliest in months in the Iraqi capital, and came despite a series of recent gains against the extremists, including the capture of Fallujah, which was believed to have been a source of such attacks. The dead included at least 15 children, 10 women and six policemen. At least 12 other people were still missing and feared dead.
The suicide car bomb struck as families were out on the streets after breaking their fast during one of the final days of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, and crowds had gathered in coffee shops to watch the semifinals of the Euro 2016 soccer tournament. The blast set off a huge blaze that engulfed two small shopping centres, leaving those inside trapped on the roof and screaming for help as firefighters attempted to rescue them.
The Baghdad bombing follows attacks in Turkey and Bangladesh over the past week that many have linked to ISIL. The shopping district in Karrada has been targeted by the group multiple times in the past.
At least half of those killed in the attack on Sunday died in the fire that followed the blast, the health official said. More than 80 per cent of those killed were under the age of 30, he said, with the area a popular gathering place for young people.
Karrada is a major commercial area lined with clothing and jewelry stores, restaurants and cafés.
Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, who is from the area, visited the bomb site on Sunday morning, and his convoy was attacked by an angry crowd. “Thief!” people shouted at his motorcade, throwing stones, bottles and projectiles, according to footage posted online. “Break the windshield, don’t let him go!” one person yelled.
Abadi has faced pressure from street protests in recent months as patience frays over widespread corruption, lack of services and growing insecurity.
The recent successful Fallujah offensive — the city had been declared “fully liberated” by the Iraqi army last week, marking a major victory against ISIL — had given him some political breathing space, but there are still widespread calls for change.
Al-Abadi faced renewed criticism in Karrada over lax security in the capital, where security forces at checkpoints still use bomb-detecting wands that were shown to be useless years ago.
“We are in a state of war, and these places are targeted. The security can’t focus on the war (against ISIL) and forget Baghdad,” Sami, a street vendor, said.
As with many previous attacks, ISIL swiftly claimed responsibility for the bombing in a statement posted online, saying it had targeted Shiite Muslims.
Elsewhere in Baghdad, a roadside bomb went off in the mostly Shiite Shaab neighbourhood, killing five people and wounding 16, another police officer said.
No group claimed responsibility for the attack, but it bore the hallmarks of ISIL militants.
The Sunni extremists frequently target the country’s Shiite majority and Shiiteled security forces, viewing them as apostates deserving of death.
Residents said the street had been closed off by police earlier in the evening because of information about a potential attack, before being reopened about an hour later.
Coffee shops were packed with people gathered to watch Italy play Germany in the Euro 2016 tournament, residents said.
Gaith Ali, 26, whose apartment windows were blown out in the explosion, said the fire spread rapidly, trapping people inside the Hadi shopping centre, which has a large coffee shop on its top floor. It spread across the street to another small mall.
“The street was full of life last night, and now the smell of death is all over the place,” he said.
The website of the Interior Ministry was hacked in the aftermath of the attack. The hackers posted a picture of a bloodied baby and a wand-style bomb detector that is still widely used at checkpoints in Iraq.
“I don’t know how you sleep at night,” the hacked website read.
THE SECURITY CAN’T FOCUS ON THE WAR (AGAINST ISIL) AND FORGET BAGHDAD.