UAE strongly condemns Iraq’s Sadr City terror attack

Gulf Today Report

The UAE has strongly condemned the terrorist attack that targeted a busy market in Sadr City, east of Iraqi capital Baghdad as families laid to rest loved ones on Tuesday who were killed in deadly bombing just hours earlier in a busy market.

Iraq was in mourning for at least 36 people killed when a bomb ripped through a crowded Baghdad market in what the Islamic State group's jihadists claimed as a suicide attack.

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Coffins were carried by relatives and placed on minibuses that transported them for burial. The funerals were held for the victims of the blast the night before in a crowded market in Sadr City, a Baghdad suburb.

People pick up debris at the site of an explosion in Sadr City district of Baghdad, Iraq, on Monday. Reuters

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MoFAIC) emphasised in a statement that the UAE utterly condemns these criminal acts and rejects all forms of violence and terrorism aimed at destabilising security and stability in contravention of all religious and human values and principles.

The Ministry also expressed its sincere condolences to the families of the victims of this heinous criminal act and wished the injured a speedy recovery.

More than 60 people were wounded, a police source said.

Daesh has claimed responsibility for the attack, the group's Nasheer news agency said on Telegram. It said one of its militants blew up his explosive vest among the crowds.

Hospital sources said the death toll could rise as some of the wounded were in critical condition.

Prime Minister Mustafa Al Kadhimi held an urgent meeting with top security commanders to discuss the attack, the premier's office said in a brief statement.

Mourners carry the coffin of a victim, who was killed in Sadr City, during a funeral in Najaf, Iraq. Reuters

President Barham Salih posted a tweet saying: "With an awful crime they target civilians in Sadr city on the eve of Eid ... We will not rest before terrorism is cut off by its roots."

In June, 15 people were wounded when a bomb placed under a kiosk in another Sadr City market detonated. In April, at least four people were killed in a car bomb attack in Sadr City. That blast was caused by an explosive device attached to a parked car at the market.