Iraq: UN envoy strongly condemns Baghdad terrorist attacks that kill many civilians

The United Nations envoy for Iraq has strongly condemned today's triple bombings in Baghdad in which dozens of civilians were killed and injured.

“This is outrageous. Terrorists of Daesh who are steadily losing ground in Iraq are now trying to sow terror and discord. They will fail here as they are failing at the frontlines,” the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Iraq, Ján Kubiš, said in a press release.

“I call on the authorities to do their utmost in order to speedily bring the perpetrators to justice,” he added, extending his condolences to the families of the lost ones, as well as wishing the injured a speedy recovery.

The attacks, which reportedly targeted a predominantly Shia Muslim neighbourhood, followed two bombings in Baghdad on New Year's eve that killed and injured scores of people.

Meanwhile, the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) has announced that it recorded 19,266 civilian casualties in 2016: 6,878 killed and 12,388 wounded. These casualty figures do not include the civilian casualty figures for Anbar for the months of May, July, August and December.

In December, 386 Iraqi civilians were killed and another 1,066 were injured in acts of terrorism, violence and armed conflict in Iraq, UNAMI said.

“Though the figures for December are lower than previous months, we are nevertheless noticing an increase in terrorist bombings towards the end of the month and in the last couple of days, targeting civilians,” Mr. Kubiš said.

“This is, no doubt, an attempt by Daesh to divert attention from their losses in Mosul and, unfortunately, it is the innocent civilians who are paying the price,” he added.