Iraqis mourn at site of worst bombing in Baghdad
-
Iraqi firefighters and civilians carry bodies of victims killed in a car bomb at a commercial area in Karradah neighborhood, Baghdad, July 3, 2016.
Thousands of Iraqis have gathered at the site of a terrorist bombing which killed at least 250 people in Baghdad on Sunday.
The streets near the Iraqi capital’s Karrada neighborhood on Wednesday night were filled with mourners who had gathered to pay homage to the memory of the victims.
Some of them carried national flags while others held candle lights. Many wept and beat their chests in mourning for the dead.
The tragedy came after a bomber detonated an explosives-rigged vehicle as families were shopping in preparation for Eid al-Fitr, marking the end of the fasting month of Ramadan.
The attack overshadowed what would normally be a joyful holiday for Muslims, turning it into a time of mourning and grief.
The Takfiri Daesh terrorist group claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it targeted Shia Muslims. However, the shopping area of Karrada is also home to Sunnis as well as a sizable Christian community.
"The Christian community in Iraq, especially in Baghdad, gathered to visit this sorrowful site," Adel Kanna said on Wednesday.
"I ask God to give patience and fortitude to the families of the martyrs," he said.
On Tuesday, Sunni Muslims joined a congregation outside charred buildings at the blast site to say their Eid al-Fitr prayers.
Terrorists specially chose the area which usually teems with shoppers in order to exact maximum casualty. The attack was the deadliest in Iraq since the US invasion of Iraq in 2003.
SS
