Following a twin suicide bomb that claimed lives in a commercial area in Iraq last week, Pope Francis has extended his condolences to the Iraqi President, Barham Salih.
A message sent last Thursday via telegram, the Secretary of State of the Holy City, Cardinal Pietro Parolin said Pope Francis was deeply saddened to learn of the attack at a clothing market in Tayaran Square.
“In deploring this senseless act of brutality, he prays for the deceased victims and their families, for the injured and for the emergency personnel in attendance. Trusting that all will continue work to overcome violence with fraternity, solidarity and peace, Pope Francis invokes upon the nation and its people the blessing of the Most High,” he said.
The two bombers blew themselves up in the crowded market area after being pursued by security forces.
Khalid Al-Mahna, the spokesman for the Iraqi Interior Ministry, said one bomber feigned illness to attract a crowd before detonating his explosives. The second bomber detonated himself as people came to help those wounded by the first explosion.
The previous suicide attack in the country took place three years ago in the same square, killing 35 people and injuring 90.
In a statement to Fides, the news agency of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, Iraqi Cardinal Louis Sako, Chaldean Catholic patriarch, said the attackers “wanted to send a message of death.”
He also speculated that the bombing was carried out in response to the postponement of elections in the country to October or to former President Donald Trump’s decision in November to reduce the U.S. military presence in the country to 2,500 troops.
“The fact remains that, so far, there is no declaration or claim from who is behind these explosions,” Cardinal Sako told Fides.
Although the Iraqi government had claimed victory over Islamic State, the terrorist group claimed credit for the attack.
The attack also raised concerns about the pope’s safety during his planned visit to Iraq March 5-8.
In an interview with Italy’s Canale 5 broadcast Jan. 10, Pope Francis said that although he is still moving forward with the planned visit, he did not know “if it will happen.”
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