Lebanese Foreign Affairs Ministry condemns Iraq’s explosions

Lebanese Foreign Affairs Ministry condemned on Tuesday “the heinous terrorist attack that rattled the Iraqi capital of Baghdad on Sunday and claimed the lives of a lot of innocent people.”

"The brutality of the attacks which recently rocked Iraq stands as a flagrant proof of the absurdity of the obscurantist terrorism forces that target our region and lurking its security and stability, without being deterred by any religious or conscience restraint," a statement issued by the Ministry said.

The statement also urged the people of the Arab nations to unite and cement ranks in order to eradicate “such a brutal scourge, to dry its funding sources and to refute sides feeding such forces intellectually and ideologically.”

The Ministry expressed full solidarity with Iraq, its people and government, and offered condolences to the families of the fallen victims and wished the injured a speedy recovery.

Iraq's interior minister resigned on Tuesday and said a deputy would take over his responsibilities, a few days after the deadliest of many car bombings in Baghdad since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion.

Mohammed Ghabban made the announcement at a media conference in Baghdad, a video of which was posted on his Facebook page.

His resignation will be official only if Prime Minister Haider Al Abadi approves it. Abadi's office had no immediate comment.

A car bomb blast on Saturday killed at least 175 people in Baghdad's central shopping district of Karrada. It was the worst single car bomb attack in Iraq since U.S. forces toppled Saddam Hussein 13 years ago and deepened the anger of many Iraqis over the weak performance of the security apparatus.

 

Islamic State militants, who government forces are trying to eject from large swathes of northern and western territory seized in 2014, claimed responsibility for the bombing.