begin quote from:
(CNN)The
death toll from a devastating ISIS truck bomb in Baghdad has risen to
285 after dozens more of the wounded succumbed to their injuries, an
Iraqi official said Thursday. Mohammad al-Rubaee, deputy head of the …
Death toll from devastating ISIS truck bomb in Baghdad rises to nearly 300
Story highlights
- Dozens more victims have succumbed to their injuries
- Attack was claimed by ISIS, in part of a wave of terror attacks launched during Ramadan
(CNN)The
death toll from a devastating ISIS truck bomb in Baghdad has risen to
292 after dozens more of the wounded succumbed to their injuries, Iraqi
officials said Thursday.
A further 200 people were injured in the attack, according to Ahmed Al-Redaini, spokesman for the Iraqi Ministry of Health.
Among
the injured are dozens of burn victims who are being transferred
outside the country for treatment, said Mohammad al-Rubaee, deputy head
of the security committee for Baghdad province.
A
statement from the country's health ministry said DNA testing was being
carried out to help identify the remains of 177 victims, so they could
be returned to their families. The bodies of 115 victims have been
returned to their loved ones so far, the statement said.
Search for loved ones in rubble of Baghdad attack 01:41
The immense blast in Baghdad's bustling Karrada neighborhood, a predominantly Shia district, in the early hours of Sunday was the worst attack to strike the Iraqi capital in years.
The
bomb-laden truck plowed into a building housing a coffee shop and
stores shortly after midnight, when the surrounding streets were packed
with people who had been gathering after breaking their Ramadan fasts.
ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack.
The fallout from the attack has included the resignation of Iraq's interior minister, Mohammed Salem al-Ghabban, who stepped aside Tuesday citing a lack of "coordination among security systems" as the reason for his departure.
Mohammed Salem al-Ghabban resigned in fallout from the blast.
In
an embarrassing admission, the government has also had to order
security personnel to stop using bogus bomb detectors that, for years,
have been widely known to be useless.
Iraqi officials say they executed five ISIS members in the wake of the attack.
Analysts
say this demonstration of the terror group's capacity to strike in the
heart of the capital may force a delay of the long-awaited government
push to retake the northern metropolis of Mosul, the largest city under
ISIS control.
The Sunni terror
group, which has carved out a self-declared caliphate in parts of Iraq
and Syria, has been losing territory, most recently in the Iraqi city of Falluja.
Former ambassador: Challenge to keep Iraq functioning 05:20
The
government had assured people that driving ISIS from Falluja -- about
65 kilometers (40 miles) west of Baghdad -- and the rest of Anbar
province would bring greater security to the capital, but that hasn't
been the case, according to retired Lt. Col. Rick Francona, a CNN
military analyst.
Iraqi officials
said in the wake of the attack that the truck bomb had in fact come from
Diyala province, to the east of the city.
ISIS
had called for its supporters to strike during the Muslim holy month,
resulting in a string of deadly attacks linked to the terror group
around the world, from the United States to Turkey, Bangladesh and
France.
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