Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) claimed responsibility on Thursday for a truck bomb attack at a crowded marketplace in the Baghdad district of Sadr City which killed at least 76 people and wounded more than 200 others.



In a statement posted online, the Sunni Muslim militant group said it had targeted the army and militia fighters in the Shiite neighborhood.

However, Iraqi police officials told the Associated Press that the bombing killed at least 54 people. The two police officials said the truck detonated in the Jameela market in Baghdad’s crowded Sadr City neighborhood shortly after dawn on Thursday. They say at least 86 people were wounded in the attack.

To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading your web browser

“On Thursdays the market is especially crowded because people come from the other provinces to stock up on food for the weekend,” one of the officers said.

Residents of the Shiite community rushed to the market to help the victims, carrying corpses in garbage bags and sending the wounded to local hospitals in ambulances or in personal cars. Three hospital officials confirmed the casualty figures. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to speak to the media.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast, but Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), ultra-radical Sunni Muslim militants who seized swathes of northern Iraq last year, have claimed similar attacks targeting Shiite neighborhoods.

(With AP and Reuters)



Last Update: Wednesday, 20 May 2020 KSA 09:44 - GMT 06:44