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Bombings Claimed by ISIS kill 93 in Iraqi Capital | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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People gather at the scene of a car bomb attack in Baghdad’s Sadr City, Iraq, May 11, 2016. Reuters


Baghdad-At least 94 people were killed in three car bombs in the Iraqi capital on Wednesday, in the deadliest violence in Baghdad this year. The attacks, all claimed by ISIS, came with the government locked in a political crisis.

The worst bombing struck the Sadr City area of northern Baghdad, killing at least 64 people.

Another suicide car bomb attack killed at least 17 people at the entrance to the northwestern neighborhood of Kadhimiya.

In Hay al-Rabih, another car bomb went off, killing at least 13 people.

A total of around 150 people were wounded in the three bombings.

ISIS issued an online statement claiming responsibility for all three attacks. It said they were carried out by suicide bombers, giving their noms de guerre.

The U.N.’s top envoy in Iraq, Jan Kubis, condemned the bombings.

“These are cowardly terrorist attacks on civilians who have done nothing but going about their normal daily lives,” he said.

A member of the parliamentary defense committee, Mohammed al-Karbouli, held the Iraqi authorities responsible for neglecting the security situation.

“The latest political differences and the rise of conflicts among different movements led to the neglect of security measures,” he told Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper.

EU Ambassador to Iraq Patrick Simonnet urged Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi to meet the needs of the people.

“All Iraqi politicians should contribute to the urgent implementation of overdue reforms and the fight against corruption called for by the Iraqi people,” he said.

The EU does not interfere in the internal and political affairs of countries, said the Ambassador.

“We don’t give solutions. We listen to them and we support them when we feel that they are good,” he added.

Baghdad Governor Ali Al-Tamimi asked Al-Abadi to make a reshuffle in the leadership of security agencies after the bombings.

He said the agencies “failed to preserve security.”

Al-Tamimi also called for an urgent investigation into the attacks.