Daesh claims Baghdad bombing, at least 29 killed

Baghdad - The blast also wounded up to 50 people.

An explosives-laden car bomb ripped through a commercial area in a predominantly Shia neighborhood of Baghdad on Wednesday, killing at least 29 people and wounding dozens in an attack that was swiftly claimed by the extremist Daesh group.
Shortly after the explosion, one of the deadliest recently in the Iraqi capital, the extremist group said it was behind the assault. Daesh said the attack was carried out by a suicide bomber, but Iraqi officials denied that.
The 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 50 people, several seriously, prompting fears the death toll could rise further. Several cars and nearby buildings were also heavily damaged, they said.
Karim Salih, a 45-year old grocer, said the bomb was a pickup truck loaded with fruits and vegetables that was parked by a man who quickly disappeared among the crowds of people.
"It was such a thunderous explosion that jolted the ground," Salih told The Associated Press.
"The force of the explosion threw me for meters 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. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity as they are not authorised to release the information to reporters.
In its online statement, Daesh said it had carried out a suicide attack that targeted a gathering of Shia militiamen. The AP could not immediately verify the authenticity of the claim but it appeared on a website commonly used by the militants.
Daesh also a controls significant area in northern and western Iraq, including Iraq's second-largest city of Mosul. Commercial and public places are among the most frequent targets.
While Daesh has suffered a number of territorial defeats in the past year, the militants are still capable of launching significant attacks across the country, and have recently stepped-up assaults inside Baghdad, something officials say is an attempt to distract from their recent battlefield defeats.
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 claimed the lives of at least 73 people.
According to the United Nations, at least 741 Iraqis were killed in April due to ongoing violence. The U.N. mission to Iraq put the number of civilians killed at 410, while the rest it said were members of the security forces. A total of 1,374 Iraqis were wounded that month, UNAMI said.

• MENA