Iraq’s interior minister says he has submitted his resignation to the prime minister following one of the worst bombings in Baghdad since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion.
Mohammed Ghabban said on July 5 that a deputy would take over his responsibilities. His resignation will be official only if Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi approves it. Abadi's office had no immediate comment.
The move comes as Iraq's Health Ministry raised the death toll to 250 from the explosion of a refrigerated truck in a shopping area in Baghdad early on July 3 while families were shopping for the holiday marking the end of Ramadan.
The Islamic State extremist group, which overran large areas north and west of Baghdad in 2014, claimed responsibility for the attack, saying an Iraqi suicide bomber carried it out.
The government has declared three days of mourning after the blast.
Ghabban also said the car bomb came from Diyala Province north of the capital and that checkpoints throughout Baghdad are "absolutely useless."
Iraqi Interior Minister Submits Resignation After Massive Baghdad Blast
Editors' Picks
Top Trending
1
U.S., Canadian Warplanes Intercept Russian, Chinese Military Aircraft Near Alaska
2Crowdsourcing Russia's Future: Poll Of Experts Considers What Comes After Putin
3Russia Attacks Ukrainian Danube Port For Second Day As NATO Scrambles Warplanes Over Romania
4Turkey Detains Russian Man Suspected Of Car Bombing In Moscow
5Ukrainian Forces Fight Intense Battles In Donetsk Region, Zelenskiy Says
6Live Briefing: Russia Invades Ukraine
7Pentagon Finds Another $2 Billion Of Accounting Errors For Ukraine Aid
8'Don't Even Whisper In Your Language': Russian Course For Central Asians Lays Down Strict Rules
9Under Relentless Russian Attacks, Ukrainian Power Plant Workers Race To Get The Lights Back On
10Bulgarian President Admits Blocking Pro-Western Envoy To Kyiv
RFE/RL has been declared an "undesirable organization" by the Russian government.
If you are in Russia or the Russia-controlled parts of Ukraine and hold a Russian passport or are a stateless person residing permanently in Russia or the Russia-controlled parts of Ukraine, please note that you could face fines or imprisonment for sharing, liking, commenting on, or saving our content, or for contacting us.
To find out more, click here.
