This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/may/11/baghdad-car-bomb-kills-dozens-sadr-city

The article has changed 8 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 1 Version 2
Baghdad market car bomb attack kills dozens At least 45 killed in Baghdad market car bomb attack
(35 minutes later)
A car bomb in a Shia district of Baghdad has killed at least 50 people and wounded more than 60 others, Iraqi police and hospital sources say. A car bomb has ripped through a commercial area in a predominantly Shia neighbourhood of Baghdad, killing at least 45 people and wounding dozens in an attack swiftly claimed by Islamic State.
The SUV packed with explosives exploded near a beauty salon in a bustling market at rush hour in the Sadr City district. Most of the victims were women and many of the wounded were in critical condition, the sources said. Shortly after the explosion, one of the deadliest recently in the Iraqi capital, the Sunni extremist group said it was responsible. Isis said the attack was carried out by a suicide bomber, but Iraqi officials denied that.
The bombing showed that Isis is still capable of launching significant attacks across the country despite a number of territorial defeats in the past year. It has recently stepped up assaults inside Baghdad, something officials say is an attempt to distract from the recent battlefield defeats.
Related: Mosul: suspicion and hostility cloud fight to recapture Iraqi city from IsisRelated: Mosul: suspicion and hostility cloud fight to recapture Iraqi city from Isis
Islamic State claimed responsibility. The ultra-hardline Sunni jihadi group, which considers Shias apostates, also said it had carried out a twin suicide bombing in Sadr City in February that killed 70 people. Wednesday’s bomb struck a crowded outdoor market in Baghdad’s eastern district of Sadr City, two police officials said, adding that the blast also wounded up to 65 people, several seriously, prompting fears the death toll could rise further.
Security has gradually improved in Baghdad, which was the target of daily bombings a decade ago, but violence directed against both the security forces and civilians is still frequent and sometimes leads to reprisal attacks. Ambulances rushed to the scene, where dozens of residents walked through the twisted and mangled wreckage of cars and other debris that littered the pavement, trying to help the victims. The street was stained red with blood in many places and front-side facades of several buildings were heavily damaged. Smoke billowed from ground-level stores gutted out by the explosion.
The fight against Isis has exacerbated a long-running sectarian conflict in Iraq, mostly between the Shia majority and Sunni minority. Karim Salih, a 45-year old grocer, said the bomb was in a pickup truck loaded with fruits and vegetables that was parked by a man who quickly disappeared among the crowds of people.
Sectarian violence also threatens to undermine US-backed efforts to dislodge the militant group from vast areas of the north and west of Iraq that it seized in 2014. “It was such a thunderous explosion that jolted the ground,” Salih said.
“The force of the explosion threw me metres away and I lost conscious for a few minutes,” the merchant added. He suffered no injuries, but two of his workers were wounded.
Four medical officials confirmed the casualty figures.
In its online statement, Isis said it had carried out a suicide attack that targeted a gathering of Shia militiamen.
Isis controls significant territory in northern and western Iraq, including Iraq’s second-largest city, Mosul. Commercial and public places in Shia-dominated areas are among the most frequent targets for its militants seeking to undermine Iraqi government efforts to maintain security inside the capital.
In February, the group carried out devastating back-to-back market bombings in Sadr City, the stronghold of followers of an influential Shia cleric. That attack killed at least 73 people.