Iraqi parliament to summon interior minister and Baghdad security chief for questioning

BAGHDAD, Iraq—An Iraqi parliamentarian says that in the next parliamentary session both the interior minister and security chief of Baghdad would be summoned for questioning following one of the deadliest bombings in the Iraqi capital last week that claimed the lives of more than 290 people.

Shakhawan Abdullah, head of the parliamentary security and defense committee told Rudaw that the interior minister and chief of Baghdad operations must answer for the capital’s security, particularly rumors about the use of “a new and strange” type of explosives in the Karrada bombing.

Abdullah said that the two officials were responsible for security and that they must explain to the members of parliament and the public details of the deadly bombing and Baghdad’s security plans.

According to Abdullah, “An investigative team has been formed of members of the anti-terror forces who special in investigating suicide bomb attacks around the country,”

A massive explosion in Baghdad’s Karrada neighborhood last week killed more than two hundred people and wounded many more. The incident shook the world and brought into question failing security in the Iraqi capital.

The interior minister Mohammed Salem al-Ghabban handed in his resignation shortly after the bombing which was accepted by Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi 24 hours later.

Some reports from Baghdad suggest that there were no signs of car bombing on the scene of the explosion and the markets where the many shoppers died had been rather consumed by a massive fire.

Al-Ghabban blamed the deteriorating security in the capital on PM Abadi whom he said did not give him enough authority and paid no heed to his security plans, also claiming lack of coordination among the country’s security departments.