"If a new war in Iraq seems fraught with danger and uncertainty, just wait for the peace."
- Roger Morris, NYT OpEd, March 14, 2003
They came in groups, or individually, to the still-smoldering wreckage that was, just a few days ago, a busy stretch of road in the Baghdad neighborhood of Karrada. As they approached the charred skeletons that line the street, their faces go slack with shock.
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Police say that of the bodies they've recovered, 81 are so badly burned they're simply beyond recognition. The only way to make a positive identification will be through DNA testing. And they're not just finding bodies.
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So you have the authorities in possession of dozens of unrecognizable bodies, and hundreds, perhaps thousands of Baghdad residents searching for loved ones who, for all intents and purposes, disappeared off the face of the earth without a trace Saturday night.
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One volunteer who was carrying away the dead said the floor in some of the shops was thick with what he called "melted bodies."
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This carnage was the latest blow to Baghdad by the so-called Islamic State. In the statement the group issued claiming responsibility for the attack, it vowed the attacks would continue.
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For weeks, officials in Baghdad have insisted that once the ISIS-stronghold of Falluja fell to the government, such bombings would become a thing of the past. Intelligence officials have long believed that many of the car bombs and suicide bombers plaguing the capital came from that city, just an hour's drive away.
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When Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi came to the scene of the blast Sunday morning, he soon had to flee, his entourage pelted with stones, bottles, shoes and insults.
"Where is the interior minister?" demanded an elderly woman. "Where is the defense minister? Are they asleep?"
"We have no government," shouted a man nearby. "It's useless!"
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As of Tuesday night, the death toll stood at 250, making it the single deadliest attack since 2003.
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On Tuesday, Interior Minister Mohammed Salem al-Ghabban submitted his resignation, citing what he said was a lack of "coordination among security systems."
CNN
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