Iraqi interior minister resigns after Baghdad bombing

BAGHDAD, July 5 (UPI) -- Iraq's interior minister said he submitted his resignation Tuesday, after a suicide bomber killed more than 200 people in central Baghdad.

"I placed my resignation before the prime minister," Mohammed al-Ghabban said Tuesday.

It has not been confirmed that Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi will accept it.

The Iraqi government has come under criticism from citizens after the weekend blast, for which the Islamic State claimed responsibility. Visiting the site, Abadi's convoy was pelted with stones, and his comments were shouted down by local residents who believe government corruption has a higher priority in Iraq than the safety of citizens. Abadi announced plans to address security flaws in Baghdad, including the elimination of ineffective bomb detectors, installation of more scanning devices at the city's entrances and increased aerial reconnaissance.

Ghabban, in his resignation address, said checkpoints in the city are "absolutely useless" and noted the vehicle carrying the explosives came from Diyala, an eastern province of Iraq, and likely passed through security checkpoints. He added the government failed to properly organize iraq's security and intelligence administrations.

He handed over authority to a deputy until Abadi's decision.