ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi has directed the government to cover the costs of treatment for those injured on Monday in an explosion in Baghdad’s Sadr City, according to a statement. After a visit to the victims being treated at the City of Medicine on Thursday, Kadhimi ordered that they be provided with “all means of support necessary for their recovery, in addition to sponsoring the travel and care of those who need treatment outside Iraq,” reads a statement from the premier’s media office. A bomb exploded in the al-Wahilat market in Sadr City Monday evening. The market was crowded with shoppers preparing for the Eid al-Adha holiday, which began on Tuesday. At least 35 people were killed and more than 60 wounded, Reuters reported, citing hospital and security sources. The Islamic State group (ISIS) has claimed responsibility for the attack. In the PM's statement, Kadhimi stressed that the terrorist attack “was the result of corruption.” “The Secretary-General strongly condemns the horrific bomb attack targeting civilians at a market in Al-Sadr City today,” read a statement from Farhan Haq, deputy spokesperson for Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday. Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani has also condemned the bombing and offered condolences to the families of the victims, as have the French foreign ministry and Russian President Vladimir Putin. ISIS no longer holds any territory in Iraq, but the militants remain a serious security threat, carrying out attacks on civilian and military targets. On Monday, Iraq’s National Security Service announced the arrest of the “Emir of Baghdad,” one of the most prominent ISIS leaders in the capital.
