The bombing in Baghdad on Sunday night that killed more than 200 people and injured as many turned the victory in Fallujah pyrrhic as Isis compensated for its loss by killing innocents. The death toll is expected to rise as many people are in critical condition, security officials and hospitals in the capital of Iraq said.
The country will be observing three days of mourning after the deadliest terror attack in years. Most of the victims in the busy street of Karrada were civilians, including many children, who were enjoying post-fast festivities during the holy month of Ramadan.
Families grieved as their beloved people were taken to Najaf, the city 160 km from Baghdad, where Shia Muslims bury their dead. Coffins arrived in Najaf by the dozens to be buried while fractured families and other residents of the country blamed the government for lax security.
The street, which had been cordoned off until the evening, leading to the market area in Karrada was opened up towards the midnight when a minivan with a suicide bomber in it blew the explosive-laden vehicle.
A family praying together for Baghdad's bomb victims pic.twitter.com/H7j4zL2pik — Jeremy Bowen (@BowenBBC) July 3, 2016
Apart from the recent bombing, Baghdad has been targeted multiple times over the past decade, before and after the uprising of the Isis.
Every Baghdad car bomb in the last decade (ht @rezahakbari) pic.twitter.com/PJSvk6qOvG
— ian bremmer (@ianbremmer) July 3, 2016