Iraq: Death toll from shrine attack rises to 56

By Ali Jawwad

BAGHDAD

The death toll from Thursday’s Daesh attack on a Shia shrine in the Iraqi town of Balad now stands at 56, a local official has said.

Three Daesh militants wearing suicide vests tried to storm the mausoleum of Sayid Mohammed bin Ali al-Hadi in Balad, north of Baghdad, on Thursday. Two bombers blew themselves up outside the shrine, while a third was shot dead by security forces.

“The death toll from the attack has risen to 56,” Radi Mohamed, a member of the town’s local council, told Anadolu Agency on Saturday.

He said more than 70 people have been injured in the assault.

“Many of the injured are in a critical condition and are suffering from severe burns,” he said.

Daesh group has claimed responsibility for the attack on its affiliate news agency Amaq.

Iraqi Defense Minister Khalid al-Obeidi, for his part, cited a “security failure” for the shrine attack.

“There was a security breach and negligence on the part of security forces tasked with protecting the area,” he told a press conference on Saturday.

Thursday’s attack came after a suicide bombing killed 292 people in a Shia shopping district in Baghdad in the deadliest attack since the 2013 U.S. Invasion.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi has sacked the three top security officials in Baghdad following the bombing.

Iraq has suffered a devastating security vacuum since mid-2014, when Daesh captured Mosul and overran large swathes of territory in the northern and western parts of the country.