Suicide Bomb Kills Over 250 in Baghdad: Iraq’s Health Ministry

The deadliest of many car bombings in Baghdad since the 2003 US led invasion took place on Sunday.

Security officials and civilians gather around an earlier car bomb site in June. (Photo: AP)

• A refrigerator truck packed with explosives blew up in Baghdad’s central district of Karrada on Sunday killing more than 250 people, Iraqi Health Ministry revealed on Wednesday. Agency reports suggest over 200 have been left injured in the attack.
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  Iraq’s interior minister resigned on Tuesday and revealed that a deputy would take over his responsibilities. This comes days after the deadliest of many car bombings in Baghdad since the 2003 US-led invasion.
  
  
• Islamic State (ISIS) has claimed responsibility for the bloodshed in a statement circulated online by supporters of the extremist Sunni group. The circular claimed the truck blast was a suicide bombing.
  
  
• The White House on Sunday condemned the bombings in Baghdad, saying that the attack only strengthens the United States’ resolve to confront Islamic State militants.
  
  

• The two attacks have come after Iraqi forces retook the city of Fallujah from ISIS. The bombings targeted families and young people who were out at restaurants, cafés, and in shopping malls after breaking their dawn-to-dusk Ramadan fast.
  

(With agency inputs)