Iran condemns Daesh terror attacks in Baghdad

Iran has condemned an intensified wave of terror attacks affecting the Iraqi capital and its surroundings, urging more international support for the violence-torn Arab country in its drive against Takfiri militants.

In a statement on Wednesday, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman, Hossein Jaberi Ansari, said the recent “criminal acts” by terrorists against Iraqi civilians showed how passive and desperate they have become as a result of their losses on the ground to the Iraqi army and volunteer forces.

“To compensate for their failures and by using the current political situation in Iraq, the terrorists would not waste any opportunity for taking revenge on the Iraqi nation, army and volunteer forces,” said Jaberi Ansari.

More than 200 people have been killed in the new wave of attacks in and around Baghdad since last Wednesday.

The Takfiri group Daesh, which still controls territories in west and north of Iraq, has claimed responsibility for the attacks, saying it specifically aims to target members of Baghdad’s Shia community.

More than 70 were killed and over a hundred injured in four such blasts in Shia-dominated neighborhoods of Baghdad, with most of them in the Sadr City.

Jaberi Ansari further said Iraq, like its neighbor Syria, is at the front line of fighting terrorism, adding that protecting Iraq’s security should be regarded as a regional and international responsibility.

Standing by the two Arab nations means supporting “global security,” he stressed

Daesh terror attacks come against the backdrop of numerous gains made by Iraqi forces in its battles against the terror group, with security forces managing to recapture key areas in the western province of Anbar in recent months.

New estimates by the government show that Daesh now controls only 14 percent of the Iraqi territory, down from the 40 percent it held in 2014, with top officials vowing to clear the entire Iraqi soil from militants in 2016.