Iraq PM sacks Baghdad security chief after bombing

Abadi issued “an order to relieve the Baghdad Operations commander of his position, and relieving security and intelligence officials in Baghdad of their positions,” a statement said. The head of the Baghdad Operations Command was Lieutenant General Abdulamir al-Shimmari, but the premier’s office did not identify the other officials who were removed.

A suicide bomber detonated an explosives-laden minibus in a Baghdad shopping district early on Sunday as it teemed with people ahead of the holiday marking the end of the holy Muslim fasting month of Ramadan. The blast, which was claimed by the Islamic State jihadist group, killed 292 people, making it one of the deadliest ever bombings by militants in the country. 

The initial blast killed a limited number of people, but raging flames spread and trapped people inside shopping centres at the site that lacked emergency exits, police Major Gen Talib Khalil Rahi said.