BREAKING: Iraq truck bomb ‘kills dozens’ in Baghdad market

More than 50 people have been killed Thursday in Iraq after a truck bomb targeted a crowded Baghdad market, officials say.

The bomb struck in Jameela market in Sadr City, a district in the north-east of the Iraqi capital.

Police and hospital officials told the Associated Press news agency at least 58 people were killed and 89 injured.

Sadr City, a predominantly Shia area, has been the target of several blasts by the radical Sunni militant group Islamic State (IS).

No group has yet said it was behind Thursday’s attack on one of the city’s largest markets.

Thursday is said to be a busy day at the market as many people arrive from Iraq’s provinces to buy their goods there.

A witness who spoke to Reuters news agency said the bomb exploded in a refrigerator truck at 06:00 local time (03:00 GMT).

The blast is one of the largest to strike Baghdad since Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi took office in August 2014, Reuters says.

A number of car bombs have targeted the city in recent months. Dozens were killed during Ramadan in July and in May, two large car bombs struck outside two of Baghdad’s largest hotels.

Source: BBC