Death toll hits 200: Iraqi government termed a ‘failure’

Iraqis on Monday mourned more than 200 people killed in a Baghdad suicide bombing claimed by the Daesh group and accused the government of not doing enough to protect them.
The search continued for bodies at the site of the attack, which ripped through the Karrada district early on Sunday as the area was packed with shoppers ahead of this week’s holiday marking the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.
Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi announced efforts to address longstanding flaws in Baghdad security measures following the blast, which came a week after Iraqi forces recaptured the city of Fallujah from Daesh.
But on the streets of Baghdad, Iraqis were angry at the government’s inability to keep residents safe, even as its forces push Daesh back outside the capital. “I swear to God, the government is a failure,” said a woman who gave her name as Umm Alaa, who lost her apartment in the attack.
Daesh “tactics are changing. Why does the Iraqi government have fixed tactics?” a man said at the site of the bombing, criticizing the government’s “stupid checkpoints” and use of fake bomb detectors.
As the country marked three days of national mourning, security and medical officials told AFP the number of dead from the attack had risen to at least 213. More than 200 were also wounded, they said.
In Karrada, a young man lit a candle on a staircase leading to the basement of one charred building, adding to dozens of others left by mourners at the site of bombing, which sparked infernos in nearby buildings.
Down the stairs, young men dug through the ashes using shovels and their hands, searching for those still missing following the blast.
Black banners bearing the names of victims — including multiple members of some families — hung from burned buildings, announcing the date and locations where their funerals would be held.

Source: Arab News