Iraq market bomb kills at least 35 on eve of Eid holiday

SMA NEWS – BAGHDAD

An explosion ripped through a busy market in the Iraqi capital Monday killing at least 35 people, according to medical sources, in an apparent suicide bombing ahead of Eid holiday celebrations.
In one of the worst attacks in Baghdad in recent years, body parts of victims lay scattered across the previously bustling market, that had been crowded with shoppers buying food ahead of the Islamic festival of Eid Al-Adha, according to an AFP photographer.
Some 60 people were also wounded in the blast, medics said.
Iraqi President Barham Salih called the bombing in the densely populated majority-Shiite suburb of Sadr City a “heinous crime,” and offered his condolences.
“They are targeting our civilians in Sadr City on the eve of Eid,” Salih said in a message on Twitter. “They do not allow people to rejoice, even for a moment.”
Eight women and seven children were among the dead, according to a medical sources, who said the toll lay between 28 and 30 killed.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but two security sources told AFP it was caused by a suicide bomber wearing an explosive belt.