More than 100 people died Sunday in a auto bombing that Islamic State said it carried out, an official of the Iraqi Interior Ministry said.
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Iraqi intelligence services also announced on Monday the arrest of 40 “terrorists” suspected of forming a group to carry out attacks in Baghdad and the eastern Diyala province.
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al- Abadi vowed “punishment” for those responsible, and his office declared three days of mourning for the victims of the attack. However, bombings have continued.
Iraqis are angry at what they describe as the government’s inability to keep residents safe.
The suicide bomber blew up his explosives-laden vehicle in Baghdad’s mostly Shiite Karada district, a favorite destination for shoppers – especially during the holy month of Ramadan.
It was the deadliest attack in Iraq since July 2015 and among the worst single bombings in more than a decade of war and insurgency. It took place in an upscale neighborhood as families flooded the streets to celebrate the start of Eid al-Fitr holiday, which commemorates the end of Ramadan.
Three bodies were pulled out in the morning from the basement of the three-story Al-Laith mall, which was reduced to a skeleton of charred steel and concrete by the blast. At least 192 people were wounded, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to reporters.
“We refuse categorically all political or worldwide interventions to stop the death sentence under the cover of human rights; Iraqi blood is above all slogans”, it said, linking the timing of the executions to the Karrada bombing.
“As Daesh retreats, it will shrink from so-called state and terrorist group to just terrorist group”, said Baghdad-based security analyst Hisham al-Hashimi, author of “The World of Daesh”. Officials said at least twelve people are confirmed missing.
But security forces were still using the devices Monday evening, as a string of smaller bombings in the capital killed 16 people and wounded dozens more.
“I understand the emotional feelings and actions that occurred in a moment of sadness and anger”, Abadi said in a statement. Like the many attacks that have come before it, this will test the Iraqi authorities’ commitment to build a rights-respecting society.
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“They are trying to create enough chaos in Iraq itself so that the Iraqi forces will find it very hard to actually take advantage of the forward momentum they have achieved due to their victory in Falluja and that is a very serious issue that the al-Abadi administration is going to have to address”. IS still controls Mosul, Iraq’s second-largest city. “Why does the Iraqi government have fixed tactics?” a man asked at the site of the bombing, criticising the government’s “stupid checkpoints” and use of fake bomb detectors. Since a year ago the insurgents have been losing ground to US -backed Iraqi government forces and Iranian-backed Shi’ite militias.
