Baghdad suicide blast toll hits 292

In this July 3, 2016 photo, Iraqi security forces and civilians gather at the site after a truck bomb hit Karada, a busy shopping district in the center of Baghdad, Iraq. (AP)

BAGHDAD: The death toll from a suicide bombing in Baghdad this weekend has reached 292, Iraq’s Health Ministry said on Thursday.

The attack, claimed by Daesh, which government forces are trying to eject from large parts of the north and west of the country, was the deadliest bombing in Iraq since US-led forces toppled Saddam Hussein 13 years ago.
More than 200 people were wounded in the attack in a busy shopping street in the mainly Shiite Karrada district of central Baghdad. About 23 of the wounded were still in hospital.
Meanwhile, Human Rights Watch called for transparency from Iraq over its promised investigation of abuses, including executions of civilians, by its forces during the recapture of Fallujah from the Daesh group.
The New York-based watchdog said that since mid-June it had asked repeatedly for information from Baghdad over what it was doing to investigate the allegations, but not even basic details were provided and the inquiry was “mired in secrecy.”
“Failing to hold fighters and commanders accountable for grave abuses bodes very badly for the looming battle for Mosul,” HRW’s deputy Middle East director, Joe Stork, said in a statement.
“Serious investigations and prosecutions are essential to provide justice to victims and their families, and to deter atrocities by government forces,” Stork said.
At the end of last month, Iraqi forces recaptured Fallujah.
United Nations human rights chief Zeid Ra’ad Al-Hussein said earlier this week that there was strong evidence that Ketaeb Hezbollah, one of the main militias that fought alongside security forces in the operation, carried out atrocities.
The Iran-backed militia may have executed dozens of civilians and kidnapped hundreds more, the UN said, citing witness testimony.
Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi responded to allegations of abuses during the operation by promising to investigate and prosecute all such cases.
But HRW said neither his office nor other officials “could provide any information about the purported investigations, including whether anyone has been arrested and charged.”