Security Council strongly condemns terror attacks in Iraq

The Security Council has strongly condemned the recent series of terrorist attacks in Iraq, including today’s bomb blasts in the capital, Baghdad, which have claimed the lives of scores of people and wounded hundreds of others.

The Council particularly deplored the deliberate targeting of locations where civilians congregate, including Christian and Muslim places of worship, and voiced their deep condolences to the families of the victims.

In a statement read out to the press by Ambassador Mark Lyall Grant of the United Kingdom, which holds the 15-member body’s rotating presidency, the Council condemned incitement to violence, particularly that which is motivated by religious hatred.

It expressed confidence that the Iraqi people will remain steadfast in their continued rejection of efforts by extremists to spark sectarian tension.

In addition, the Council condemned the 19 October attack against the convoy of the Secretary-General’s Special Representative and other United Nations staff in Iraq. All UN staff escaped without injury, but a member of the Iraqi Security Forces was killed and several others injured.

Underlining the need to bring perpetrators, organizers, financiers and sponsors of the “reprehensible acts of terrorism” to justice, members of the Council urged all States to cooperate actively with the Iraqi authorities.

They stressed that “no terrorist act can reverse a path towards peace, democracy and reconstruction in Iraq, which is supported by the people and the Government of Iraq and the international community.”