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UN envoy in Iraq condemns bomb attack on Kurdish mourners

UN envoy in Iraq condemns bomb attack on Kurdish mourners

The aftermath of a suicide bombing in Iraq
The top United Nations envoy in Iraq today condemned “in the strongest terms” a suicide bomb attack that killed and injured dozens of people at a house filled with Kurdish funeral mourners yesterday.

Staffan de Mistura, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative, expressed concern that the attack, in the town of Jalawla in Diyala province, occurred in an especially sensitive area and may increase ethnic tensions there.

He urged all communities to “show restraint at this difficult time, and to avoid responding to this appalling provocation in the way that the extremists and killers are clearly hoping for.”

He also extended the UN’s condolences to the families of those affected and sent wishes for the full and speedy recovery of the wounded.