03 July 2016•Update: 08 July 2016
By Ibrahim Salih
BAGHDAD
The death toll from Sunday’s massive car-bomb attack in Baghdad -- which was claimed by the Daesh terrorist group -- has risen to 204, according to Iraqi Health Ministry sources.
Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi declared three days of mourning in the wake of the attack, which occurred in the capital’s central Al-Karada district at about 1.00 a.m. local time (2200GMT) on Sunday.
According to a health ministry source who spoke anonymously due to safety concerns, the blast left at least 185 others injured.
A medical source from Baghdad’s Health Department, who spoke anonymously due to fears for his safety, said the death toll had been revised upwards after a number of bodies were pulled from the rubble of a collapsed building.
"Eleven unidentified bodies are at [Baghdad’s] Kadhimiya Hospital, 27 at Karama Hospital and nine at Sheikh Zayed Hospital," the source said.
The bombing was swiftly claimed by Daesh, which overran vast swathes of territory in northern and western Iraq in 2014.
In a statement circulated online, the group said the bombing had targeted Shia Muslims. The statement could not, however, be independently verified.
Visiting the site in the wake of the attack, al-Abadi linked the deadly bombing to Daesh’s recent territorial losses.
"The terrorists carried out this bombing… after being crushed at the battle of Fallujah," he said, vowing to find and punish the perpetrators.
The city of Fallujah was recaptured from Daesh by Iraqi forces last week.
The Al-Karada district had been bustling with late-night shoppers when the blast -- Iraq’s deadliest this year -- tore through a main street.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry, for its part, was quick to condemn the attack.
"We condemn this outrageous attack and wish mercy for those who lost their lives… [We] hope the wounded recover quickly and we express our condolences to the Iraqi nation," it said.
The U.S. likewise denounced the attack.
"These attacks only strengthen our resolve to support Iraqi security forces as they continue to take back territory from ISIL," U.S. National Security Council spokesman Ned Price said, using an alternative acronym for Daesh.
