Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Baghdad

Eight months on, many bodies from Baghdad catastrophic blast unidentified

 Eight months on, many bodies from Baghdad catastrophic blast unidentified

A memorial of banners commemorating the victims of the July 2016 explosions in Karrada, Baghdad.

A memorial of banners commemorating the victims of the July 2016 explosions in Karrada, Baghdad.
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) More than 45 bodies from a disastrous bomb attack that struck Baghdad in 2016 remain unidentified, according to the country’s forensics service.

Zaid Ali, head of Iraq’s forensic authority, said in statements on Sunday that more than 45 dead bodies from the explosion which rocked Karrada have not been identified by victim’s families. He said the authority was about to pronounce the case closed, preserving the examination results in case relatives to the deceased show up.

Ali said the unknown corpses are the remainders from all bodies previously handed over by the authority to families, the latest batch of which contained 115 corpses. He said D.N.A examinations of the dead bodies were attended by international forensics experts.

“There are families that have not been able to find their sons’ dead bodies yet after the Karrada explosion,” said Ali.

The explosion in Karrada, claimed by Islamic State militants, was carried out by booby-trapped vehicles near a popular restaurant early July 3rd. It occurred on the same day two other major explosions rocked other areas in Baghdad. The aggregate death toll surpassed 300 people.

The incident forced the resignation of former interior minister Mohamed al-Ghabban.

Also on southern Baghdad, a civilian was killed and four others were wounded when bomb exploded near a popular market in Suweib neighborhood.

Violence surged in Iraq with the emergence of Islamic State militants who took over large areas of the country in 2014. Baghdad has been witnessing almost daily bombings targeting civilians and security personnel.

The United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI) said violence in the country left nearly 382 dead, including security members, and 908 injured during January. Baghdad was the most affected province with 128 deaths and 444 injuries, according to the organization.

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