Baghdad, Iraq (CNN) They came in groups, or individually, to the still-smoldering wreckage that was, just a few days ago, a busy stretch of road in the Baghdad neighborhood of Karrada. As they approached the charred skeletons that line the street, their faces go slack with shock. Jaws drop.

Among them was Sami Hadi, a government employee looking for two of his cousins and their three children who had come here Saturday evening to buy clothing for Eid al-Fitr, the holiday that follows the holy month of Ramadan.

Photos: Suicide bombing kills at least 200 in Baghdad Photos: Suicide bombing kills at least 200 in Baghdad Women react Monday, July 4, at the site of a suicide bombing that took place a day earlier in Baghdad, Iraq. At least 200 people were killed by a truck bomb in the Karrada neighborhood. ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack. Hide Caption 1 of 13 Photos: Suicide bombing kills at least 200 in Baghdad A man mourns in Najaf, Iraq, during a funeral for Karrada victims on Sunday, July 3. Hide Caption 2 of 13 Photos: Suicide bombing kills at least 200 in Baghdad A woman walks by a building that was damaged in the Karrada blast. Hide Caption 3 of 13 Photos: Suicide bombing kills at least 200 in Baghdad Firefighters work at the scene in Karrada early on July 3. Hide Caption 4 of 13 Photos: Suicide bombing kills at least 200 in Baghdad A body is carried away from the site of the blast. Hide Caption 5 of 13 Photos: Suicide bombing kills at least 200 in Baghdad People who lost their relatives mourn after the bombing. Hide Caption 6 of 13 Photos: Suicide bombing kills at least 200 in Baghdad Iraqi security forces look for victims. Hide Caption 7 of 13 Photos: Suicide bombing kills at least 200 in Baghdad People look for victims after the explosion. Hide Caption 8 of 13 Photos: Suicide bombing kills at least 200 in Baghdad An Iraqi woman grieves at the scene of the Karrada blast on July 3. A second bomb exploded Sunday at an outdoor market in the Shaab neighborhood of southeastern Baghdad, killing one person and wounding five others, police said. Both Baghdad strikes are a sign of the Sunni-Shiite tension in the Muslim world. Sunni-dominated ISIS claimed it was targeting Shiite neighborhoods. Hide Caption 9 of 13 Photos: Suicide bombing kills at least 200 in Baghdad The Karrada attack was the deadliest incident in Baghdad in years. Hide Caption 10 of 13 Photos: Suicide bombing kills at least 200 in Baghdad People hug near the site of the Karrada blast. Hide Caption 11 of 13 Photos: Suicide bombing kills at least 200 in Baghdad Men mourn after losing five members of their family in the Karrada bombing. Hide Caption 12 of 13 Photos: Suicide bombing kills at least 200 in Baghdad People light candles at the scene of the Karrada bombing. Hide Caption 13 of 13

Sami had scoured floor after floor for a trace of them. "There are only charred pieces of flesh," he told me, his voice flat with exhaustion. "We can't recognize anyone."

It's an overused cliché that Baghdad is accustomed to violence and bloodshed. It's not. Death is death, and when it visits your home and rips away the lives of loved ones, that pain is as intense here as it is anywhere else.

Sami actually did find a trace of his relatives. He found a phone that looked familiar, checked the SIM card and discovered it belonged to one of his cousins. With that discovery, he left, refusing to say another word.

Read More