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Iraqi PM vows security changes after Baghdad bombing

Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi also sacked a number of Iraqi security officials within hours of the attacks.

Iraqi mourners carry the coffin of a victim who was killed in a twin suicide bombing in central Baghdad, during a funeral in the holy city of Najaf on January 21, 2021. - A rare twin suicide bombing killed 32 people and wounded 110 at a crowded market in central Baghdad, Iraq's government said, the city's deadliest attack in three years.
The first attacker drew a crowd at the bustling market in the capital's Tayaran Square by claiming to feel sick, then detonated his explosives belt, the interior ministry s
Iraqi mourners carry the coffin of a victim killed in a twin suicide bombing in central Baghdad during a funeral in the holy city of Najaf, Jan. 21, 2021. — ALI NAJAFI/AFP via Getty Images

A day after deadly dual bombings tore through a crowded market in central Baghdad, Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi promised that the intelligence failure "would not be repeated."

Kadhimi said during an urgent meeting of the National Security Council that his government was working to develop a “comprehensive and effective security plan to meet the coming challenges" that he would personally oversee.

"What happened yesterday is a breach that we do not allow to be repeated. We promised our people to provide security," said Kadhimi, who tweeted the day before that Iraq’s response would be “bold and earth-shattering.” 

Two suicide bombers detonated their explosive vests in the busy Bab al-Sharqi outdoor market in central Baghdad on Thursday, killing at least 32 people and injuring 110. In a statement posted to messaging app Telegram, the Islamic State took credit for the bombings, which the Sunni terrorist group said were meant to target Shiite Muslims. 

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