Iran condemns terrorist attacks in Iraq, Pakistan

At least 65 people were killed and 280 others, mostly women and children, wounded after a bomb went off outside a park in the city of Lahore in northeastern Pakistan on Sunday. A faction of Taliban, which calls itself Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, claimed responsibility for the attack.

On Friday, a bomb explosion at a soccer stadium near the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, claimed the lives of 41 people and injured 105 others. The Takfiri Daesh terrorist group claimed responsibility for that bombing attack.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hossein Jaberi Ansari on Monday said the two terrorist attacks once again demonstrated that terrorists and extremists are targeting all manifestations of ordinary life in human societies.

“No place and no echelon of societies is spared their (the terrorists’) danger,” he said.

The recurrence of terrorist attacks in the different parts of the world puts further emphasis on the necessity for an immediate, comprehensive, and international confrontation with the ominous phenomenon of terrorism and extremism, said the Iranian official.

Jaberi Ansari also offered Tehran’s condolences to the Iraqi and Pakistani nations and governments and the bereaved families of the victims.

On Sunday, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon condemned the bombing attack at Gulshan-i-Iqbal Park in the Pakistani city of Lahore, calling it an “appalling” act of terrorism.

“The secretary general calls for the perpetrators of this appalling terrorist act to be brought swiftly to justice, consistent with human rights obligations,” a UN statement said.

Ban called on the Pakistani government “to do its utmost to put in place protective measures to ensure the personal security of all individuals, including religious minority communities living in the country.”

The UN chief added that he “extends his heartfelt condolences to the victims and their families, and expresses his solidarity with the people and government of Pakistan.”