Japan condemns bomb attacks in Baghdad

By KUNA

Tokyo : Japan condemned Monday recent twin suicide bomb attacks that killed nearly 100 people in Baghdad, saying terrorism cannot be justified for any reason.

Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith had earlier condemned, Saturday, a terrorist attack in Iraq as "utterly contemptible." "Japan greatly feels shocked and indignant over the consecutive suicide bomb attacks in the Iraqi capital," Press Secretary Kazuo Kodama said in a statement. He also expressed Japan's condolences to the families of the victims killed in the bombings and its sympathy for people injured in the attacks.

According to media reports, nearly 100 people were killed Friday in two suicide bombings involving mentally disabled women who attacked at the busy pet markets in Baghdad.

The blasts were the deadliest in the capital since violence fell following the US surge of troops last summer.

Japan expects that the ethnic and religious groups will show mutual respect, and continue making efforts toward nation-building while promoting national reconciliation, the statement added.