The violent actions in Iraq continued as more than 60 people were killed and 280 wounded in a massive bomb attack on Wednesday, 23 January 2008. The attack destroyed 100 houses in Zanjili area in Mosul, Iraq's third main city and capital of Ninawa governorate. The Zanjili area lies 3 km to the west of Mosel city center. The residents of the Zanjili area are mainly destitute families.

The Ninawa Health Department reported the killing of 28 people. But many families had buried their killed relatives immediately after the attack without getting them registered at the Forensic Medicine department. This had brought the estimate of the number of killed people to 60; most of them were children, women and elderly.

At least 280 people were wounded in the attack; some of them are in a very critical situation. Many families have lost their homes and/or dear family members, which had caused psychological problems.

Actions of the Iraqi Red Crescent Society- Ninawa branch

The Iraqi Red Crescent- Ninawa branch continued to provide humanitarian assistance to the affected families in the Zanjili area. An operations room was organized at the branch main office, headed by the branch director and included the different program coordinators. The branch carried out a rapid damage assessment and identified the response priorities. The Iraqi Red Crescent actions included:

- Provided first aid to the affected people.

- Established an emergency team, which was dispatched to the site of the attack. The team organized the relief operation and distributed relief and food items to the affected families.

- Iraqi Red Crescent volunteers set up tents for the families who lost their homes and needed to be temporarily sheltered.

- The branch delivered big tents to the affected schools to facilitate the continuation of the mid-year examinations. Tents will be used as classrooms until re-construction of schools is completed.

- Coordinated the relief activities through the operations room with the relevant governmental and nongovernmental agencies.

- Provided medical and relief supplies to the Republic Hospital as illustrated in the table 1:

For additional information, please contact:

In Iraq:

1. Iraqi Red Crescent Organization, President- Dr. Said Hakki, email: saidhakki@iraqirc.org
2. Iraqi Red Crescent Organization, Vice President- Dr. Jamal Karboli, email: JamalKarboli@iraqirc.org
3. International Relation Department manager ircs_int_dep@yahoo.com; Mobile phone: +964 7901669159; Telephone: +964 1 5372925/24/23
4. Disaster Management Department manager disastermghq@yahoo.com; Mobile phone: +964 7703045043; Telephone: +964 1 5372925/24/23

In Jordan:

Amman Coordination Office: ircs_amman_office@yahoo.com;
Mobile phone (manager):+962 796484058; Mobile phone (deputy manager): +962 797180940