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Iraq's Abadi accepts resignation of interior minister

Wednesday, 06 July 2016 1:15 PM [ Last Update: Wednesday, 06 July 2016 1:15 PM ]

Iraq's Interior Minister Mohammed al-Ghabban (C-L) is greeted by Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi (C-R) during a ceremony marking the 94th anniversary of the creation of the Iraqi police in the capital, Baghdad, January 9, 2016. (AFP)

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 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.

Iraqis gather on July 5, 2016 at the site of a car bomb attack which took place early on July 3 in Baghdad's Karrada neighborhood. (AFP photo)

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 areas.

The northern and western parts of Iraq have been plagued by gruesome violence since Daesh started its campaign of terror in June 2014.

The United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq recently said that in June alone a total of 662 people were killed and over 1,450 were injured in acts of terror, violence and armed conflict.

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