Dozens killed in Daesh’s deadliest attack
Shopping area bombing is one of the worst in Iraq since 2003 U.S.-led invasion
BAGHDAD— The death toll from a suicide bombing on a busy Baghdad shopping street rose to at least187 on Monday as victims succumbed to their injuries and rescuers pulled out bodies from the charred remains of a mall, marking deadliest ever single bomb attack on civilians carried out by Daesh, also known as ISIS or ISIL.
Most of those killed died in a huge fire that burned down shops and consumed several small malls after the suicide attacker detonated his explosives-laden car in the Karrada area of Baghdad in the early hours of Sunday morning. The street was full of families shopping after breaking their fast during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and cafés were packed with young people who had gathered to watch the semifinals in the Euro 2016 soccer tournament.
Some 187 people were killed and more than 250 injured, said a health official who declined to be named because he was not authorized to give the information. Mohammed alRubaie, deputy head of Baghdad Provincial Council’s security committee, who said he had been travelling between hospitals and tallying the dead, said that more than 200 died.
The bombing follows attacks in Turkey and Bangladesh over the past week that many have linked to Daesh, but it far outstrips them in the number of people killed.
As more were confirmed dead on Monday, the death toll climbed past the multi-pronged attack by Daesh gunmen and suicide bombers in Paris last year, which killed 130.
It was the most deadly single bombing by the group since it formed three years ago as an offshoot of Al Qaeda, and one of the worst in Iraq’s long struggle with violence since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion.
U.S. officials have warned that the group is likely to intensify its attacks overseas as it loses ground in Iraq and Syria, but civilians in the Middle East continue to bear the brunt of the campaign of bombings.
Security forces had cordoned off the street on Sunday night, and it was only accessible by foot. A crowd of hundreds gathered to light candles for those killed and black banners had been hung on walls with the names of the dead. Rescuers were still pulling bodies out of scorched buildings.
Relatives of the missing were also gathered.
“I looked in all the hospitals but I haven’t found my son,” said Fathi Kareem, 63, holding a photo of the missing 25-year-old who he said had come out to buy clothes.
“I just want to find him to bury him.”
Many bodies were too badly burned by fire to be identified. Zaid Ali alYousif, head of Baghdad’s morgue, said he had more than 100 unidentified bodies there on Monday.
Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has declared three days of mourning for the victims. Daesh claimed responsibility, saying it had targeted Shiite Muslims. The militants have now lost almost half the territory they once controlled in Iraq, most recently losing their stronghold of Fallujah, 72 kilometres west of the capital.
Witnesses said the fire following the blast spread rapidly, trapping people inside the Hadi shopping centre, which has a large coffee shop on its top floor.
“There are still bodies under the destruction,” said Ibrahim Hassan, 28, as he helped search through the scorched stores.