31 killed, dozens hurt in dual car bomb blasts in Iraqi city
Print Edition
TWO car bombs in the southern Iraqi city of Samawah yesterday killed at least 31 people and wounded more than 50, the latest in a series of attacks claimed by the Islamic State group as the country grapples with a worsening political crisis.
The attacks came the day after thousands of anti-government protesters poured into Baghdad’s heavily guarded Green Zone and stormed parliament, the culmination of months of protests by followers of an influential Shiite cleric demanding wide-ranging political reforms.
A police officer said yesterday that two parked cars filled with explosives were detonated within minutes of each other around midday in Samawah, the first near government offices and the second at an open-air bus station.
At least 52 people were wounded in the explosions, and police said the death toll was expected to rise. IS claimed the bombings in an online statement, saying they were carried out by suicide attackers targeting police.
The Shiite-dominated city is located 370 kilometers south of the capital Baghdad. The extremists have repeatedly targeted Iraq’s Shiite majority , as well as the Shiite-dominated security forces.
Earlier yesterday, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi ordered authorities to arrest and prosecute protesters who attacked security forces, lawmakers and damaged state property after breaking into the Green Zone.
Followers of influential Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr tore down blast walls and poured into the Green Zone and parliament building on Saturday.
Videos on social media showed a group surrounding and slapping two Iraqi lawmakers as they attempted to flee the crowd, while other protesters mobbed lawmakers’ motorcades. Protesters were also seen jumping and dancing on the parliament’s meeting hall tables and chairs and waving Iraqi flags. The protesters eventually left the parliament on Saturday night and rallied at a nearby square.
Al-Sadr and his supporters want to reform the political system put in place following the United States-led invasion in 2003, in which entrenched political blocs representing Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds rely on patronage, resulting in widespread corruption.
Protesters vowed to continue their sit-in at the Green Zone until their demands are met.
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