Baghdad car bombings: at least 94 dead, ISIS claims attack

May 12, 2016 10:16
Baghdad car bombings: at least 94 dead, ISIS claims attack

At least 94 people were killed in a huge car bomb blast in Baghdad, at a market in Shiite area.

ISIS claimed the attacks, which came with the government locked in a political crisis that some have warned could undermine the fight against the jihadists.

The concerned officials said, Sadr City, the frequently targeted one witnessed the fresh bomb attack, at about 10 am (0700 GMT), killing at least 64 people.

The bomb blast destroyed the nearby shops and vehicles in the street, which angered the public and blamed the government for the carnage.

Abu Ali, a local resident said, “The state is in a conflict over (government positions) and the people are the victims. The politicians are behind the explosion.”

“The state is responsible for the bombings that hit civilians. The politicians should all get out,” another local resident said.

At the entrance to the northwestern neighborhood of Kadhimiya, another suicide car bomb attack killed at least 17 people.

Also read: ISIS: Baghdad twin bombings kills 70

The hospital sources said that, the access to the repeatedly targeted neighborhood is restricted. Several members of the security forces were among the victims.

On a row, another car bomb attack in Jamea district of western Baghdad, killed at least 13 people. On the whole, around 150 people were injured in all the 3 bombings.

Claiming the responsibility for all the 3 attacks, IS issued an online statement.  It said they were carried out by suicide bombers, giving their noms de guerre.

The UN's top envoy in Iraq, Jan Kubis, condemned the bloodshed.

"These are cowardly terrorist attacks on civilians who have done nothing but going about their normal daily lives," he said.

IS considers Shiites, making up the majority of Iraq's population, to be heretics and often targets them with bombings.

Government spokesman Saad al-Hadithi responded to the issue saying that, IS now only controls 14 % of Iraq, down from 40 %.

Baghdad-based US Major General Gary Volesky said that, "every single day", the IS group was losing ground in the country.

The group's "ability to conduct large-scale offensive operations has primarily stopped," he said.

Prime Minister of Iraq, Haider al-Abadi has sought to replace the cabinet ministers, with a government of technocrats, a move opposed by powerful parties that rely on control of ministries for patronage and funds.

Zainab al-Tai, a lawmaker from Sadr's political movement, said the most recent efforts to resume the parliamentary process were still floundering Wednesday.

"Some disagreements remain, there is no session and we have yet to set a date for the next session," she told AFP.

"Parliament is divided in three groups... I don't think we can reach a result, the decision will be in the hands of the people," she added.

By Phani Ch

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ISIS  Bomb  Baghdad news