Deadly bombing attacks in Baghdad

Iraqis on Monday mourned more than 200 people killed in a Baghdad suicide bombing claimed by the Islamic State 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 IS.

But on the streets of Baghdad, Iraqis were angry at the government’s inability to keep residents safe, even as its forces push IS 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.

IS “tactics are changing. Why does the Iraqi government have fixed tactics?” a man said at the site of the bombing, criticising 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. (AFP)

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