BAGHDAD (AP) – At least 83 people have been killed and 176 wounded in two separate bomb attacks in the Iraqi capital Sunday morning, Iraqi officials said.
In the deadliest attack, a car bomb hit Karada, a busy shopping district in the center of Baghdad, killing 78 people and wounding 160, according to police and hospital officials. It struck as families and young people were out on the streets after breaking their daylight fast for the holy month of Ramadan.
The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the bombing in a statement posted online, saying they had deliberately targeted Shiite Muslims. The statement could not be independently verified.
At dawn Sunday, fire fighters were still working to extinguish the blazes and bodies were still being recovered from charred buildings. Many of the dead were children, according to Associated Press reporters at the scene. Ambulances could be heard rushing to the site for hours after the blast. An eyewitness said the explosion caused fires at nearby clothing and cellphone shops.
Hours after the bombing, Iraq’s prime minister visited the blast site. Video footage uploaded to social media showed an angry crowd, with people calling Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi a “thief” and shouting at his convoy.