UNSC strongly condemns recent spate of terrorist attacks in Iraq

The Security Council on Monday "condemned in the strongest terms" the recent spate of terrorist attacks in Iraq, reminding the perpetrators that their acts cannot reverse the path towards peace and democracy supported by the international community. In a statement to the press on behalf of Council members following a meeting on the situation in Iraq, Council President Liu Jieyi of China said the Council "reiterated that no terrorist act can reverse a path towards peace, democracy and reconstruction in Iraq." He said the attacks, which killed scores of civilians and injured hundreds more, "deliberately" targeted locations such as schools and places of worship. Reaffirming its commitment to Iraq's security and acknowledging the Iraqi security forces' efforts, whose members are also targeted by the terrorist attacks, the Council "strongly" expressed support for the continued Iraqi Government's efforts to help meet security needs of the entire Iraqi population. The Council underlined the need to bring perpetrators, organizers, financiers and sponsors of these "reprehensible" acts of terrorism to justice, and urged all states to cooperate actively with Baghdad in this regard. It reaffirmed the need to combat by all means threats to international peace and security caused by terrorist acts, and that any acts of terrorism are "criminal and unjustifiable, regardless of their motivation, wherever, whenever and by whomsoever committed." In his statement to the Council earlier in the day, the UN Special Envoy for Iraq Nickolay Mladenov called on the Council "to condemn in the strongest terms the recent spate of terrorist attacks" in Iraq. "Your message will be seen as support for the people of Iraq in their just struggle against terrorism," he argued. He linked the terrorist attacks in Iraq to the ongoing conflict in Syria. "Today, more than ever, Iraq's challenges cannot be considered in isolation from the broader risks that face the region. Resolving the Syrian crisis through an inclusive national project and adopting a regional strategy against all forms of religious or sectarian extremism are vital to bringing stability to Iraq," he said