MEXICO CITY, July 4 (Xinhua) -- Latin American countries on Monday condemned the deadly bombing that killed scores of people in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad over the weekend.
The "attack in Baghdad that killed 165 people, including a large number of children, is an unspeakable tragedy. Condolences to this sister nation," Ecuadoran Minister of Foreign Affairs Guillaume Long posted on Twitter.
The death toll has now risen to more than 200, Middle Eastern news agency Al Jazeera reported, adding that officials feared the number may continue to rise as rescuers comb through the rubble and burnt out buildings.
The car bomb blast ripped through a popular area of Baghdad early on Sunday, during the holy month of Ramadan, as numerous families were gathered on the street outside a traditional ice cream shop and shopping center.
The district, called Al Karrada, is majority Shiite.
The terrorist group Islamic State claimed responsibility for the blast, which left at least another 230 people injured.
In Lima, the Peruvian Foreign Affairs Ministry issued a statement, expressing its "sincerest condolences and solidarity with the Iraqi government ... and families of the victims."
Venezuela's government expressed its "indignation and sadness over the regrettable events," referring also to Saturday's attack on a restaurant in the Bangladeshi capital of Dhaka, which claimed 20 lives.
Islamic State also claimed responsibility for that attack.
Venezuela "condemns terrorism in all its manifestations," as well as "any hidden intention ... to discredit the Muslim religion as violent and intolerant," the government said.
It also called on the international community "to attack the root causes of terrorism."
Mexico's President Enrique Pena Nieto expressed his country's "solidarity with the Iraqi people and government," while the Foreign Affairs Ministry said it hoped "the remainder of the holy month of Ramadan transpires in peace."
