Esra Kaymak
March 08, 2016•Update: March 13, 2016
By Esra Kaymak Avci
WASHINGTON
Vice President Joe Biden on Tuesday called Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi to offer condolences for a suicide attack in southern Baghdad, according to White House.
Biden and Abadi reaffirmed their commitment to destroy Daesh.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but recent weeks have seen the Daesh terrorist group claim responsibility for a spate of similar attacks in Iraq.
"The vice president also reviewed U.S. efforts to help Iraq secure additional regional and international assistance for stabilization and reconstruction in Ramadi and other areas liberated from ISIL," the White House said.
The attack Sunday in the Shia-majority city of Hillah killed at least 34 victims when a suicide bomber detonated his explosive-laden truck at a checkpoint at the city’s entrance, a local security source said.
Several security personnel were among those killed in the attack.
Biden, along with his wife, is currently in the United Arab Emirates on the first leg of a Mideast trip.
The couple will then head to Israel, the West Bank and Jordan.
