A car bomb ripped through a busy market area in eastern Baghdad on Monday, killing at least 12 people, Iraqi officials said.
The explosives-laden car went off at the wholesale Jamila market in Baghdad’s Shiite district of Sadr City, a police officer said. The explosion also wounded 28 other people, he added, saying the death toll was expected to rise further.
A medical official confirmed the casualty figures. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to talk to journalists.
A plume of thick black smoke billowed from the area and people were running away in panic. At the site, twisted metal and shards of glass littered the pavement, along with vegetables and other goods sold at the market.
“It was a thunderous explosion,” said Hussein Kadhim, a 35-year old porter and father of three who was wounded in his right leg.