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Baghdad blast death toll hits 292: Health Ministry

Thursday, 07 July 2016 2:51 PM [ Last Update: Thursday, 07 July 2016 3:50 PM ]

Mourners carry the coffin of an Iraqi man, who was killed in a bombing that ripped through Baghdad's busy shopping district of Karradah on July 3, during a funeral procession at the site of the attack on July 6, 2016. (AFP photo)

Iraq's Health Ministry says the death toll from a recent deadly bombing attack in the capital, Baghdad, has risen to 292.

Iraqi Health Minister Adeela Hammoud told al-Iraqiya TV network on Thursday that DNA samples were collected from 150 families to identify bodies charred beyond recognition.

The ministry’s Thursday toll makes the Baghdad attack the deadliest since the US invasion of Iraq in 2003.

The death toll rose as some critically-injured people died and more bodies were recovered from the rubble in Baghdad’s Shia neighborhood of Karradah, where a truck packed with explosives blew up on Sunday.

The deadly blast took place when a vehicle packed with explosives was detonated in Karradah area while families were shopping for Eid al-Fitr which marks the end of the holy Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.

Security and medical officials said the attack left at least 213 people dead and more than 200 others wounded.

In a twitter post, the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group claimed responsibility for the assault.

Following the deadly bomb blast, senior Iraqi officials announced measures to address security flaws in the capital, including scrapping fake detectors, accelerated installing of scanning devices at entrances to Baghdad, and increased aerial reconnaissance and coordination among security forces.

Iraqi firefighters and civilians carry bodies of victims killed in a car bomb at a commercial area in Karradah neighborhood, Baghdad, July 3, 2016. ©AP

Iraq’s Interior Minister Mohammed al-Ghabban also stepped down from his position after the deadly bombing.

The bomb attack came a few days after Iraqi forces fully liberated the strategic city of Fallujah, situated roughly 69 kilometers west of Baghdad, from Daesh terrorists.

Having suffered heavy losses on the battlefield against Iraqi soldiers, Daesh has recently stepped up its terror attacks across Baghdad.

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