TEHRAN (FNA)- Iran strongly condemned the recent terrorist bombings in Iraq which killed and injured many civilians, warning that the terrorist attacks are aimed at undermining the stability and security of the Muslim country. |
In a statement on Monday, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Seyed Abbas Araqchi strongly condemned the attacks, and expressed sympathy for the bereaved families of the victims.
At least 100 people were killed and more than 250 others wounded by a series of car bombs in mainly Shiite districts of the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, on Monday. One of the bombs exploded near a bus carrying Iranian pilgrims North of Baghdad, killing 14 people and injuring 15 others.
Two car bombs hit Basra, a predominantly Shiite Southern city 420 km (260 miles) Southeast of Baghdad yesterday. The first struck the Hananiya neighborhood, near a busy market and restaurants, and the second was detonated inside a bus terminal in Saad Square, police and medics said. Eleven people were killed.
No group has claimed responsibility for the blasts, but such large-scale bombings bear the hallmarks of al-Qaeda-linked militants in Iraq, which seek to destabilize the central government.
More than 700 people were killed in April by a UN count, the highest figure in almost five years. Relations are coming under more strain by the day from the increasingly sectarian conflict in neighboring Syria.