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Ban, top envoy deplore back-to-back bomb blasts in Iraq

Ban, top envoy deplore back-to-back bomb blasts in Iraq

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Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and his top envoy to Iraq have strongly condemned the horrific back-to-back bombings that struck Baghdad today and yesterday.

According to media reports, two suicide bombers detonated their explosive vests near a Shi''a shrine this morning, killing over 60 people, while more than 80 people reportedly died in similar attacks yesterday, which has been characterized as Iraq''s deadliest day of the year.

The Secretary-General was particularly dismayed by reports that one of the bombers in yesterday''s attacks was a woman accompanied by a five-year-old child.

“No cause or grievance can justify such reprehensible acts,” Mr. Ban said in a statement issued by his spokesperson.

He also expressed his deepest condolences to the families of the victims and joined “the people of Iraq in rejecting these attempts to incite further violence in the country.”

Extending the UN''s condolences to the victims'' families, the Secretary-General''s Special Representative for Iraq, Staffan de Mistura, described the attacks as “terrible crimes, targeting innocent civilians, mainly pilgrims, and many as they waited for food parcels being handed out by the Iraqi Red Crescent.”

Mr. de Mistura also voiced concern over the spike in deadly attacks in recent weeks, while also expressing confidence in Iraqi people to remain united in their resolve in combating violence.