Iraq

An Inferno by the name of Baghdad

Death cries, the debris, flames: After the devastating attack in Baghdad, with nearly 200 dead Iraqi Prime Minister Abadi wants to change the security concept. Still an empty promise? Birgit Svensson reports from Baghdad.

“Where is Karim?”, screams desperate, a woman dressed in black. “Where is my son?”. As it happened to many on this Sunday afternoon in Baghdad. Desperate people in the rubble looking for their loved ones. The security forces had trouble to push them back and to maintain the barriers in an upright position.

“I haven’t seen my husband for twelve hours,” screams another woman in her despair, “since he went to the shop, he’s gone.” It was shortly after midnight on Sunday morning. It is Ramadan, and the life in the Islamic world, plays itself out in almost a month mostly at night. The shopping street in the district of Karrada was full of people.

Now, some sit still by the roadside in the scorching heat and look stunned at the burned-out cars, destroyed buildings, and the debris thrown by the Explosion on the road.

It was the
worst attack in the Iraqi capital this year, with Almost 200 Dead in a day and almost 1000 injured. Since the end of the civil war in Baghdad in 2008, Karrada has not experienced any Explosion in a such a scale.

Mourning: After the attack on the shopping centre kindle members candles to commemorate the dead of

People like burning torches

Like a raging Inferno it had been, to tell the bystanders, residents. To the left and to the right of burned-out houses. A total of ten buildings, most of the five floors, one with seven storeys. They were captured by the tremendous pressure wave of the Explosion, caught fire or collapsed. Although the heat had parked transporters with the deadly load of explosives on the left side of the road in front of a Restaurant when it exploded, were also pulled to the opposite houses affected.

A suicide bomber had blown up in front of the truck in the air and the Explosion is triggered, reports the local residents. The hot summer wind have contributed to the fact that the flames were quickly spreading. For hours the fire brigade have needed to get the fire under control.

“Must be hell,” says an old man the Events. Because not only the buildings were covered by the flames, even the people. Like burning torches, some tried to flee, until they collapsed in pain. Some of them haven’t made it out of the burning buildings out to run and were buried in the falling rubble.

Disliked: The Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi enjoys little trust among the population

The death scream he’ll never forget, says the Old man who wanted to live since its birth in Karrada and the district, even in the worst of times not to leave. In the three years of civil war in 2006/07 and 2008, as Sunnis and Shiites were killing eachother, experienced Karrada and its well-known shopping street “Dakhel” a bomb attack after the other. “But this explosive power”, say the two men, the crush with shovels and Hoes, the concrete parts of the road to transport animals. The whole Sunday on the shopping street in Karrada, remained blocked on Monday the road for the traffic, it was not free.

Politicians pause in Ramadan

As Iraq
Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi on the site of the attack arrived to make a picture of the Situation by flying stones on the politicians. “Criminals!”, shouted the head of the government, “all criminals!”. Instead of protecting you, would go to the government in power struggles and in their pockets economies, is the unanimous opinion of the lot in Karrada.

In fact, the announced reshuffle of the Cabinet of Ministers for the fight against corruption is not yet over and in the Parliament a controversial issue. The government crisis continues to smoulder. During Ramadan, most of the politicians have adopted the holiday. The announcement Abadis, he will change the concept of security for the capital, appeased no one.

For months, it is known that the explosive detectors at the checkpoints ineffective. “For the corruption of these things, no Iraqi has been held accountable,” says a vegetable seller who comes daily from the Shia district of Sadr City and Karrada, in order to sell his Goods and various Checkpoints you must pass. As before, the devices are used there, striding men in Uniform stopped cars in order to discover the alleged explosives.

In ruins: After the attack firefighters mountains, the debris and search for Survivors

Wrong Detectors

The detector resembles a gun, the barrel is a thick metal needle. Since 2009, we know that he is totally ineffective, and everything other than explosives tracking. As a Golf ball detector from the USA purchased for less than 20 dollars (16 Euro) per piece, sold them to the British businessman James McCormick for up to $ 40,000 unit price as bomb detectors in the crisis countries. More than 7000 he delivered to the Iraqi Ministry of the interior.

Although the Briton was convicted in may 2013 for fraud to ten years in prison, but an investigation of the kickback payments to the Iraqi Ministry of the interior remained only a lip service. “They’re mocking us,” says the greengrocer angry. Also on Monday, the fake detectors are still in use.

On Sunday evening, the people gather after the breaking of the fast in Karrada Dakhel, bring candles and commemorate the victims of the attack. The mother of Karim came. Still bodies recovered, still there is uncertainty as to the whereabouts of many members, is still the victim numbers are increasing.

Meanwhile, the terrorist militia “Islamic state” (IS) has been known for the attack. “It was clear”, says a man in his mid-thirties. “If you lose your state, to avenge you on us.” Two weeks ago, the Iraqi government, the re-conquest of the IS stronghold of Falluja, 50 kilometers West of Baghdad.