Share

Attack on Shiite shrine kills 37, wounds 62

In Iraq, at least 26 people have been killed and 50 others wounded in a suicide attack on a mausoleum north of Baghdad.

Advertisement

Iraq’s Health Ministry says the death toll from a recent deadly bombing attack in the capital, Baghdad, has risen to 292.

People had gathered at the shrine for the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan. Islamist militants drove an explosive-filled minibus into a Baghdad shopping district, blowing the vehicle up in one of the most lethal attacks to rock Iraq since the US invasion in 2003.

Abadi issued “an order to relieve the Baghdad Operations commander of his position”, as well as removing officials responsible for intelligence and security in the capital, a statement said.

The attack on the mausoleum comes days after a suicide attack in Baghdad claimed almost 300 lives.

The Islamic State movement considers Shiite Muslims to be heretics. In May, a string of larger attacks, many of them claimed by IS, killed more than 200 people in a single week.

Then a second bomber went into the shrine as gunmen opened fire on other security personnel.

A man detonated an explosive belt at the gate of the burial chamber at around 11pm local time on Thursday – 8pm British time – allowing several gunmen to storm the site and start shooting at worshippers.

Small-scale bombings occur on a near-daily basis in Baghdad.

The initial blast killed a limited number of people, but flames spread and trapped people inside shopping centres that lacked emergency exits, Rahi told a news conference in Baghdad.

The Islamic State group took responsibility for that bombing, in the Karada district, which was teeming with revelers celebrating Ramadan, including many families with children.

Advertisement

The minister of interior submitted his resignation on Tuesday, but Mr al-Abadi has not accepted it.

A policeman inspects the scene of a mortar and bombing attack on the Sayyid Mohammed shrine in the Balad area located 70 kilometres north of Baghdad