Iraq's Abadi accepts resignation of interior minister

Iraq's Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi on Wednesday accepted the resignation submitted by the interior minister in the wake of the major bombing of July 3 that claimed the lives of at least 250 people in Baghdad.

Iraq’s al-Forat news agency quoted a source close to the prime minister as saying that Abadi had accepted Mohammed Salem al-Ghabban's resignation.

Ghabban announced during a press conference in the capital on Tuesday that he had handed in his resignation.

On July 3, a vehicle packed with explosives was detonated in Baghdad’s Shia Muslim neighborhood of Karrada while people were shopping for Eid al-Fitr, marking the end of the holy Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.

Iraq's Health Ministry announced early Wednesday that the death toll from the attack had risen to 250.

On the same day of the terrorist attack, a second bombing was carried out at an outdoor market in the Shaab neighborhood of southeastern Baghdad. Two people were killed in that assault.

The Daesh Takfiri terrorist group claimed responsibility for both attacks. It said the bombings were meant to target Shia Muslim areas.

SS