Baghdad security chiefs dismissed after deadly attacks

Chief of Baghdad Operations Command and two security and intelligence officials fired in wake of deadly bombings

People gather at the site of a suicide car bomb in the Karrada shopping area, in Baghdad, Iraq
A suicide bombing in early July rocked Baghdad's popular Karada district, killing at least 300 people [REUTERS]

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi sacked the head of Baghdad security and two other senior officials on Friday, following two deadly blasts in the capital that killed as many as 340 people and wounded scores.

Abadi did not name the fired commander directly, or the other security and intelligence officials, though the head of the Baghdad Operations Command was Lieutenant General Abdulamir al-Shimmari.

In a statement, Abadi said he issued “an order to relieve the Baghdad Operations commander of his position.” 

An official in Abadi’s office told the AFP news agency that the other officials removed were the head of the interior ministry’s intelligence for Baghdad and the official responsible for the capital at the national security adviser’s office.

The three are the latest heads to roll in the security services following last weekend’s car bombing in the city’s Karada district that killed almost 300 people and a suicide attack on a Shia shrine on Thursday night that left at least 40 dead.

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) claimed responsibility for the Karada blast and Thursday’s attack on the Sayyid Mohammed shrine, which was hit by mortars and suicide bombers who opened fire before detonating their explosives, the army’s Joint Operations Command said.

Two of the bombers blew themselves up next to the shrine while a third was killed before he could detonate his explosive belt. Scores of people were also injured in the attack.

Iraqi Interior Minister Mohammed Ghabbanresigned on Tuesday amid a wave of public anger following the Karada blast and widespread criticism that the Abadi government is unable to ensure security in Baghdad.

 

  

Source: Al Jazeera