YOUR thoughts on Baghdad bombs now death total 250

[Anthea]

Baghdad attacks kill 126 including 25 children 147 injured
ISIS claims responsibility

For the third time in a week terrorists carried out a mass slaughter of civilians - with ISIS claiming responsibility.

A suicide car bomb killed 125 people, including 25 children, Saturday evening in a busy shopping district in Baghdad.

It was the deadliest attack in Iraq in many years.

Families had gathered in the popular area to break the Ramadan fast and watch the Euro 2016 soccer tournament in a cafe when a suicide car bomb exploded, ripping through a multi-level building that also housed stores and a gym.

At least 147 were injured.

A second bomb exploded Sunday at an outdoor market in the Shaab neighborhood of southeastern Baghdad, killing one person and wounding five others, police said.

The attacks came just days after massacres at a cafe in Dhaka, Bangladesh and at the Ataturk International Airport in Istanbul, Turkey.

"These acts of mass murder are yet another example of Daesh's contempt for human life," said State Department John Kirby, using another term for ISIS. "From Baghdad to Istanbul, Brussels, Dhaka, and Paris, Daesh terrorists murder the innocent to attract attention and recruits. They will not succeed."

ISIS, also known as ISIL, acknowledged territorial losses to Iraqi forces in May as it promised an uptick in terror attacks during the holy month of Ramadan, which ends this week.

Bombing comes after Iraqi gains against ISIS

ISIS claimed responsibility for the Karrada attack in a statement posted on Twitter. The group claimed it was targeting Shiite neighborhoods. Karrada and Shaab are predominately Shiite.

Many of the car bombers and suicide bombers who have plagued the capital for years are from Falluja, about an hour away.

When Iraqi forces retook the city recently from ISIS, authorities assured Baghdad residents that the bombings would stop.

"Obviously this will reignite the anger of ordinary people who say we can't even go out at night and enjoy life in our city," according to CNN Senior International Correspondent Ben Wedeman.

Witness: 'I lost several friends'

College student Sadeq al Zawini, 25, was watching as rescue workers pulled bodies from the rubble.

"We've had it with the Iraqi government and politicians. They can't continue blaming Da'esh and other terrorist groups. We need a solution," he said. "I lost several friends myself, some are still missing," he said, sobbing.

The anger of residents manifested itself when Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi and other officials attempted to survey the bomb damage.

Amateur videos posted on social media showed residents throwing objects at a convoy carrying al-Abadi in Karrada. The videos showed protesters yelling "thief!" and "get out!"

In a statement, al-Abadi said he understands the reaction in "that moment of grief" by the residents who threw objects at his convoy.

He said he came to Karrada to console families and "share their sorrow in this painful tragedy that happened." He said ISIS tried to hijack the joy that Iraqis felt over recent victories against ISIS in Falluja.

The Iraqi government has declared three days for public mourning.

International reaction

Former Iraqi diplomat: Iraq is in political chaos

"This is a cowardly and heinous act of unparalleled proportions, to target peaceful civilians in the closing days of the holy month of Ramadan including shoppers preparing for the Eid-ul-Fitr holiday," Ján Kubiš, the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary General (SRSG) for Iraq, said in a statement Sunday.

The White house issued a statement saying: "These attacks only strengthen our resolve to support Iraqi security forces as they continue to take back territory from ISIL, just as we continue to intensify our efforts to root out ISIL's terrorist network and leaders."

UNICEF reacted to the death of 25 children in the attack.

"The killing and maiming of children is a grave violation under international humanitarian law," the group said in a statement.

"As violence across Iraq intensifies, children continue to pay the heaviest price."

Recent surge

Baghdad has witnessed a surge in the number of deadly car bomb attacks in recent weeks, with ISIS claiming responsibility for many of them.

One of the deadliest incidents occurred in Sadr City on May 17, when a car packed with explosives detonated killing at least 24 people and wounding 71 others, according to security officials.

That was followed by two more explosions in the al-Shaab neighborhood in the north of the capital, which killed at least 19 people and wounded another 44. A female suicide bomber may have been responsible for one of the blasts, the Iraqi Interior Ministry said.

http://edition.cnn.com/2016/07/02/middl ... car-bombs/

[Anthea]

I totally and utterly condemn all perpetrators of violence

As this attack was so swiftly claimed by ISIS - then why was not the Turkish airport so readily claimed?

Surely an attack on Turkish soil would add greater kudos to the ISIS propaganda machine than an attack on either Syrian or Iraqi soil

In my valued judgement it took far too long for the Turkish government to release the identities of the bombers

Prestidigitation - my favourite world when thinking of Erdogan - a magician's trick - a slight of hand - a way to trick people into looking in one direction while the real action is taking place somewhere else

Action such as the burning of forests and farmlands - the mass extermination of wildlife - the destruction of homes and villages - the slaughter of countless innocent Kurds - all currently being carried out on traditional Kurdish homelands by Turkish army with complete immunity from prosecution

[Anthea]

The Baghdad bombing was almost certainly a repercussion for the unknown and by now THOUSANDS of innocent Sunnis slaughtered by the Shia Militia as they tried to escape the advancing Shia army and the coalition bombs

The difference between Terrorism and Patriotism is that Patriots control the news

Fallujah has been a radical Sunni stronghold since time immemorial but for most of the time no more radical than Sunni Saudi Arabia

[Piling]

ISIS never claim any attack against Turkey, though they are the authors of many, I don't know why. Probably these attacks are warnings against Turkey but not official war.

This butchery is also a failure (one more !) of late Iraqi State and its forces, unable to keep safe the country.

[Anthea]

The death toll from Sunday's suicide bombing in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, has risen to 250, the Iraqi government says, making it the deadliest such attack since the 2003 US-led invasion.

A lorry packed with explosives was detonated in the Karrada district while families were shopping for the holiday marking the end of Ramadan.

So-called Islamic State (IS) has said it carried out the suicide attack.

An earlier estimate for the attack had put the toll at 165.

Iraq remains under an official state of mourning following the bombing.

The destruction of the area was all but complete. Bewildered local residents have held candlelight vigils and prayed for peace.

3 July 2016: Islamic State bombing in Baghdad kills 250

August 2014: IS kill hundreds of minority Yazidi men and boys in Nineveh province, north-west of Baghdad

12 June 2014: Up to 1,700 military recruits are killed by IS at a former US base, an incident known as the Camp Speicher massacre

19 August 2009: Two car bombs near the Green Zone in Baghdad kill at least 155 people

14 August 2007: Multiple suicide bombings targeting the Yazidi community in northern Iraq kill more than 500 people

23 November 2006: More than 200 people killed as six car bombs detonate in the Sadr City neighbourhood of Baghdad

Engulfed in flames

Scores of people were also injured but most have been released from hospital, according to the Iraqi health ministry.

The ministry said those critically injured had been sent abroad, without giving further details.

The bombing in a mostly Shia Muslim area just after midnight came a week after Iraqi forces had recaptured the city of Falluja from IS.

Reports said a lorry had been packed with explosives and left near the Hadi Center, popular with shoppers.

The powerful blast engulfed the area in flames. Such was the chaos it took days for the scale of the attack to become clear.

Hope blasted away: Jeremy Bowen, BBC Middle East editor, Baghdad

Saddam Hussein's regime was harsh, and it could be murderous. He led the country into a series of disastrous wars and brought crippling international sanctions down on their heads.

But with the benefit of 13 years of hindsight, the world that existed before 9 April 2003 seems to be a calmer, more secure place. They have not had a proper day of peace since the old regime fell.

As for democracy, many I have spoken to believe the hopelessly sectarian political system is broken. At least, they say, law and order existed under Saddam.

Some hoped things might get better after the army's victory over IS in Falluja. The devastating bomb attack in Baghdad in the early hours of Sunday has blasted that hope away.

The Iraqi government has been heavily criticised over the attack, with Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi met by angry crowds when he visited the blast site.

On Tuesday, Interior Minister Mohammed Ghabban submitted his resignation but it has not yet been accepted.

He described checkpoints dotted through Baghdad as "absolutely useless", according to AFP news agency.

The government has stepped up security in Baghdad and also said a group of prisoners convicted of terror crimes would be put to death in the immediate future.

IS follows an extreme version of Sunni Islam and has frequently targeted Shia, whom it regards as apostates.

The group has suffered a series of territorial losses in Iraq and analysts say it is increasingly resorting to insurgent tactics.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-36720720