Massive bombing on Eid kills more than 120 in Iraq

Middle East, News July 19, 2015 , by IRIA No Comments

Iraq’s deadliest attacks in a decade turn joyful Eid celebrations into a scene of carnage and horror

BAGHDAD (Iraq) — The death toll from a bombing at a crowded marketplace in eastern Iraq climbed to as many as 130 on Saturday, Iraqi officials said, marking the Islamic State’s worst single bombing attack on a civilian target in the country.

The explosion, one of the deadliest recent attacks in Iraq, occurred late Friday in the Al-Khales area of Khan Bani Saad, a town in Diyala province about 35 miles north of Baghdad. The timing of the detonation caught shoppers out in force for the Eid al-Fitr celebration, which marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan.

Police said a small truck detonated in a crowded marketplace in the town of Khan Beni Saad Friday night and quickly turned celebrations into a scene of horror, with body parts scattered across the market. At least 170 people were injured.

The mostly-Shiite victims were gathered to mark the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, which ended Friday for Iraqi Shiites and a day earlier for Iraqi Sunni Muslims.

“Khan Beni Saad has become a disaster area because of this huge explosion,” Diyala resident Sayif Ali said. “This is the first day of Eid, hundreds of people got killed, many injured, and we are still searching for more bodies.”

ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement posted on Twitter accounts associated with the militant group.

Read more: ISIS and Media

Iraq’s Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi described the attack as a “heinous crime” that would not go unpunished.

“I felt the ground shaking,” said Maj. Ahmed al-Timimi, 35, a policeman who was manning a nearby checkpoint and arrived on the scene about 10 minutes after the bombing. “Most of the market was wiped out. Hundreds of cars were burning, and bodies and human organs were everywhere.”

Timimi said the emergency services were overwhelmed, and residents transported wounded civilians in shopping carts. “It wasn’t enough. Too many wounded people died before they got to the hospital,” he said, adding that bodies are still being recovered from the wreckage of destroyed buildings.

“Eid should be joyful, but those terrorists have made it a black day,” he said. “Each Eid we will remember this, and we’ll never be able to be happy during Eid again.”

Iraq’s speaker of parliament, Salim al-Jabouri, said Saturday that the attack has struck an “ugly sectarian chord.”

“We went out to the market for shopping and preparations for the holiday Eid in order to receive holiday cheer,” said another resident, who spoke anonymously for fear of retribution. “But this joy has turned to grief and we have lost family, friends and relatives, all because of this government’s failure to provide us with security.”

Security forces were out across Diyala on Saturday, with dozens of new checkpoints and security protocols immediately implemented.

“This horrible carnage is truly outside all boundaries of civilized behavior,” Jan Kubis, the special representative of the United Nations mission in Iraq, said Saturday.