Iraq death toll continues to rise days after Baghdad bombing

Isis claimed responsibility for Sunday’s atrocity, which struck a district of the city home to mainly Shia Muslims, who are considered “apostates” by the group.

Hamoud did not specify how many had been identified so far, but said the process was expected to take between 15 to 45 days. The Ministry of Interior’s website was hacked and a picture of a bloodied baby was posted along with a bomb detector bearing the Islamic State’s markings – making the point that the fake wands aid only those intent on killing civilians.

ISIS said it would carry out more terror attacks during Ramadan.

The liberation of Falluja was supposed to be a tide turner, yet Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi seems to have had no political plan in place beyond celebrating the city’s newfound “freedom”.

Roudaini said the ministry of health continues to help transport the remains of the dead to Baghdad’s forensic lab or to the city morgue, but he said the scale of the explosion has overwhelmed the teams who normally respond to such attacks.

At least 175 people were killed and almost 200 wounded, while a dozen people remain unaccounted for.

Mohammed Salem al-Ghabban submitted his resignation at a press conference Tuesday in Baghdad, citing a lack of “coordination among security systems” as the reason for his departure.

The day after the attacks, King Salman warned that “the kingdom is determined to strike with an iron fist all those who target the minds, ideas and attitudes of our dear youth”, adding that the biggest challenge facing Muslims worldwide is protecting young people from extremist ideas.

“We can’t enjoy the Eid; if it isn’t ISIS, it’s Al-Qaeda, and if it isn’t the two, it’s the filthy corrupt politics in this country”, one Karrada woman said, according to local media.

Last month, a gunman shot up a nightclub in Orlando, Florida, an attacker killed a police commander and his partner in France, and four Israelis were killed at a Tel Aviv market.

Zeid is urging the government to immediately relocate and free more than 600 men and boys reportedly abducted by a militia group involved in the recapture of Fallujah from IS in June.

Shias comprise the country’s majority, as they do in Iran, Bahrain and other nations, while Sunnis are dominant in Saudi Arabia and more than 40 countries stretching from Morocco to Indonesia.

The city of Fallujah, 35 miles west of Baghdad, was thought to be the main source of the vehicle bombs used to attack the capital.

ISIS militants claimed the suicide bombing involving a refrigerator truck packed with explosives. He said then that security forces outside his control – including units reporting to two counter-terrorism agencies, two Defence Ministry directorates and regional security commands – overlap with his ministry’s own counter-intelligence efforts.

Batrawy reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates.