A 12-YEAR-OLD Melbourne girl killed in an Islamic State terror attack in Baghdad told family she was “scared of the bombs” before travelling to Iraq.

Zynab Al Harbiya had travelled from her Thomastown home to visit her sick grandfather.

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop this morning confirmed the year seven student was killed in a suicide bombing that targeted an ice cream parlour in the Iraqi capital.

Accompanied by family members, the young girl had just enjoyed an ice cream on Monday night, breaking the daily fast undertaken during the holy month of Ramadan when a car bomb was detonated outside the popular eatery.

“She broke her fast and she just wanted to go and get some ice-cream from the parlour,” Zynab’s cousin Layla Al-Saabary said through tears on The Project.

Remembering her “cheeky” younger cousin Ms Al-Saabary told the program her aunt and uncle had concerns about travelling to Iraq, but they did not want to let “these kind of attacks or these people control our lives”.

“They’re focusing right now on the burial and they’re just trying to keep strong,” she said of her aunt and uncle. “And not let these kind of attacks or these people control our lives.

“There were attacks in Manchester a week ago and now it’s Baghdad. We stand strong. We’ll never let such people control our lives and I think that’s the main message that we hope

that Zynab is remembered.”

Speaking with ABC radio earlier Wednesday, Ms Al-Saabary said though the young girl was excited about visiting family in Iraq, she had expressed some concern.

“She told my son before she left, she said ‘I am scared of the bombs’ and we said it is OK,” she said.

Earlier, Ms Al-Saabary told Nine News the family was in disbelief.

“We hear about these things, people, the victims of terrorist attacks and she was just going to have ice cream after she broke her fast,” she said. “She was just going to buy ice cream. I still expect her to come and tease me and play around and make fun and jokes. She is too small to go so early.”

Sirius College principal Halid Serdar Takimoglu described Zynab as an energetic girl who was loved by her friends.

“All of us are deeply distressed that one of our smiling students has been taken from us in a cruel act of violence that is beyond understanding,” he said.

IRAQ: CCTV Footage Shows Deadly Explosion at Baghdad Ice Cream Store May 30 IRAQ: CCTV Footage Shows Deadly Explosion at Baghdad Ice Cream Store May 30

The young girl was among 17 people, including several children, killed when a suicide bomber detonated an explosives-rigged vehicle parked outside the shop around midnight. More than 30 were injured.

A closed-circuit camera captured the moment of the explosion, the video showing a busy downtown avenue, with cars driving down the street when the blast strikes.

A huge fireball then engulfs a building, forcing the cars to scramble to get away.

Other videos of the attack posted on social media show wounded and bloodied people crying for help on the sidewalk outside the ice cream parlour.

The family of the young Ms Al Harbiya told Sky News her funeral would be held today, and her Australian schoolmates were yet to be informed.

Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the blast. The jihadist group said it had deliberately targeted Shiites.

The group also claimed a later suicide bombing also in Baghdad that killed at least 11 people and wounded 50.

Addressing media in Canberra, Ms Bishop confirmed the young Ms Al Harbiya’s death “with great sadness”.

“I extend our deepest sympathies to her family, her loved ones, and her fellow students at Sirius College in Broadmeadows,” she said.

Ms Bishop said the Australian government was committed to stamping out further attacks like these and defeating IS in Iraq.

“This tragedy underscores the brutality of this terror organisation that shows no respect for religion, nationality, sovereignty, borders, no respect for humanity,” she said.

“This is why the Australian government has continued to commit our defence personnel to support the Iraqi forces so they can fight to defeat this terror organisation within Iraq and prevent its spread throughout the world, including our region.”

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the attacks “in the strongest terms”, the UN said in a statement that termed the bombings an “outrage”.

With AP