More than 50 people have been killed after a truck bomb detonated in a busy marketplace in Baghdad, Iraq.
The attack, which occurred in the popular Jameela marketplace in the Sadr City district shortly after dawn on Thursday, was the largest in the capital since Haider al-Abadi became Prime Minister a year ago.
Smouldering ruins and charred wooden stalls, scattered with vegetables and debris, remained on Thursday morning as residents rushed to the scene to help those who survived.
At least 58 people have been killed and 89 injured when the refrigerator truck blew up at around 6am, according to police and ambulance crews who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity.
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The death toll is expected to rise as the attack occurred during the market’s busiest period – Thursday morning – as many rural Iraqis travel to the bazaar to stock up on food for the coming weekend.
“Many people were killed and body parts were thrown on top of nearby buildings,” police officer Muhsin al-Saedi told Reuters.
Witnesses described the devastation meted out by the bomb, detailing shrapnel, fruits and body parts littering the usually packed (and predominantly Shia) marketplace in the south-eastern suburb of Iraq’s capital.
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Although no group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack, Isis – also known as the Islamic State – have staged similar truck bombings in the past.
Iraq has been plagued by near-daily attacks since the sectarian fighting of 2006 and 2007 following the US-led invasion. However, this latest attack marks a brutal escalation of the body count, following an attack last month in Diyala which killed more than 115 people.
Additional reporting by Associated Press
