Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, visiting the site of the bombing, was met by an angry mob throwing stones at his vehicle convoy, calling him a thief. Though he vowed “punishment” for the perpetrators, bystanders cursed him and his government who they blame for not preventing the carnage on Iraq’s streets that is repeated all too often.
A suicide bomber blew up an explosive-laden pickup truck outside a busy shopping centre shortly after midnight on Sunday. Many families were on the streets after breaking their Ramadan fast.
The blast set buildings in the area on fire. Officials said dozens burned to death or suffocated. It was the single most deadly attack in Baghdad this year.
“It was like an earthquake,” Karim Sami, a street vendor, told AP. “I wrapped up my goods and was heading home when I saw a fire ball with a thunderous bombing.”
A former soldier said six workers at his family’s shop were killed, their bodies burned beyond recognition. “I will return to the battlefront. At least there, I know the enemy so I can fight him,” Hussein Ali told AFP. “But here, I don’t know who I’m fighting.”
Many in Karrada are angry with the government’s failure to provide security. “We are in a state of war, and these places are targeted,” the street vendor Sami said. “The security can’t focus on the war and forget Baghdad.”
Hannain al-Qadu, member of the Iraqi parliament, called on the Iraqi government to close Karrada neighbourhood to cars, making it pedestrian only and installing security measures to protect civilians. “This region suffered terrorist bombings more than once, but the government did not take any action,” Qadu said.
Others have stressed that the Iraqi government, political parties, and society need to be united in the face of such horrendous acts.
Speaker of the Iraqi parliament, Salim al-Jubouri, condemned the attack and called for all political parties to be united “against all that threatens the security and stability of the country.”
Ján Kubiš, Special Representative of the UN Secretary General, also urged unity in condemning the attack.
“The terrorists of Daesh [ISIS] who have suffered defeats at the battlefront are seeking to avenge their losses by targeting vulnerable civilians,” he said. “Despite the pain and agony the Iraqi people will not surrender to the designs of those terrorists, will continue to reject their ways through displaying steadfast national unity and will eventually triumph.”
The Kurdistan Regional Government also joined the chorus of voices condemning the attack. “We strongly condemn this disgusting and coward terrorist attack," reads a statement issued by the Kurdistan Region Presidency. "Those carrying out such acts are the enemy of all humanitarian values and their fate is failure and elimination."
Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack within hours of the blast, calling it a part of the group’s “ongoing security operations,” and said it targeted Shia Muslims.
One person has been arrested so far in connection with the bombing, confirmed a spokesperson for the Baghdad Operations Command on Sunday.
Mohammed al-Rubaai, deputy head of the security committee in Baghdad's provincial council, told Rudaw that 167 were killed and another 180 were wounded in the bombing. They expect the number of deceased to rise as emergency personnel continue to work at the scene.
The council has also formed an investigative committee to weed out those who were careless in their positions, thereby inadvertently allowing such attacks to occur.
A second attack in Baghdad’s northern Shaab neighbourhood killed five and wounded 15, police confirmed. No group has claimed responsibility.
The Iraqi government had hoped that liberating Fallujah, the Islamic State’s stronghold just 60 kilometres west of Baghdad, would increase security in the capital as authorities believed Fallujah was a launch pad for such attacks.
