At least 200 people were killed and hundreds were wounded in the worst bombing so far this year in Iraq.
- More than 200 killed
- Hundreds wounded
- Bombers struck in busy shopping area at the end of Ramadan
Grief and anger on the streets of Baghdad
Friends and families of the victims who were killed in Sunday morning’s massive bombing in Baghdad have made a makeshift memorial at the site.
The government just sits around doing nothing about security
Iraqis light candles at the scene of a massive bomb attack Baghdad, more than 150 were killed
AP_Images</a> Hadi Mizban <a href="https://t.co/ATpQF70Tnt">pic.twitter.com/ATpQF70Tnt</a></p>— SundayTimesPictures (STPictures) July 4, 2016
Grief and anger are the only emotions evident as the search continues for the dead and anyone who may still be alive and trapped.
Grief because at least 200 people lost their lives here and hundreds were injured.
Anger because many think the Iraqi government is not doing enough to protect its citizens.
“Most of the people here were in their 20s and now all we have are 300 victims.,” one man told reporters.
“The government just sits around doing nothing about security.”
What happened?
At least 200 people were killed and hundreds were wounded in what is the worst attack so far this year in Iraq.
Witnesses say the ground shook like an earthquake when a refrigerated van packed with explosives blew up in the city’s busy commercial area of Karada.
Before:
The shopping Center before & after Isis suicide car bomb that killed more than 140 people in #Baghdad, #Iraqpic.twitter.com/gQUdU6jiHN
— Nasser Atta (@nasseratta5) July 3, 2016
After:
Update: 79 people killed in suicide car bomb attack in #Baghdadpic.twitter.com/OWQKK7KV61
— China Xinhua News (XHNews) <a href="https://twitter.com/XHNews/status/749514192760213504">July 3, 2016</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"align="center"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Islamic State claimed responsibility for a massive car bomb in a Baghdad shopping district <a href="https://t.co/vKvFiMFL34">https://t.co/vKvFiMFL34</a> <a href="https://t.co/V0tsfW8F1Y">pic.twitter.com/V0tsfW8F1Y</a></p>— Wall Street Journal (WSJ) July 3, 2016
The streets were packed with people shopping for the end of Ramadan.
“Most of the people in the building were in their 20s and now 300 people have been hurt here. The government sits in a chair doing nothing when it comes to security,” said a local man.
Linked to ISIL
ISIL have claimed responsibility for the bombing.
In a statement published online, the group says it deliberately targeted Shiite Muslims.
The bombing was the third major attack in a week with possible links to ISIL.
The others were:
- A tripe suicide bombing at Ataturk airport in Istanbul
- An attack on a cafe in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh.
The security question
Some local officials say it is time for the city’s separate security services to work together more constructively.
“There are many institutions for security and we need to bring them together,” said Mohammed al-Bayd, Vice Chairman of Community Security of the Baghdad local council.
