The death toll from Sunday’s suicide bombing in the Iraqi
capital, Baghdad, has risen to 250, says the Iraqi government, making it the
deadliest such attack since the 2003 US-led invasion.
A lorry packed full of explosives was detonated in the
Karrada district while families were shopping for the holiday marking the end
of Ramadan.
ISIS claimed responsibility for the
suicide attack.
An earlier estimate for the attack had put the toll at
165.
Iraq remains under an official state of mourning
following the bombing.
The destruction of the area was all but complete.
Bewildered local residents have held candlelight vigils and prayed for peace.
Scores of people were also injured but most have been
released from hospital, according to the Iraqi health ministry.
The ministry said those critically injured had been sent
abroad, without giving further details, reports the BBC.
The bombing in a mostly Shia Muslim area just after
midnight came a week after Iraqi forces had recaptured the city of Falluja from
IS.
Reports said a lorry had been packed with explosives and
left near the Hadi Center, popular with shoppers.
The powerful blast engulfed the area in flames. Such was
the chaos it took days for the scale of the attack to become clear.
The Iraqi government has been heavily criticized over the
attack, with Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi met by angry crowds when he visited
the blast site.
On Tuesday, Interior Minister Mohammed Ghabban submitted
his resignation but it has not yet been accepted.
He described checkpoints dotted through Baghdad as
“absolutely useless”, according to AFP news agency.
The government has stepped up security in Baghdad and
also said a group of prisoners convicted of terror crimes would be put to death
in the immediate future.
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