Baghdad bombing 35 people killed and dozens wounded in market attack on eve of the Eid al-Adha festival

THIRTY-FIVE people have been killed and dozens inured in a horrific Baghdad bombing during an attack on the eve of the Eid al-Adha festival.

An explosion ripped through a busy market in the Iraqi capital on Monday in an apparent suicide bombing ahead of Eid holiday celebrations, said medical sources.

People pick up debris at the site of an explosion in Sadr City district of Baghdad, Iraq, July 19Credit: Reuters

It was one of the worst attacks in Baghdad in recent years.

Body parts of victims were strewn across the previously bustling market that had been crowded with shoppers buying food ahead of the Islamic festival of Eid al-Adha, according to a photographer.

Some 50 people were also wounded in the blast, medics said.

Eight women and seven children were among the dead, according to medical sources, who estimated that the toll lay between 28 and 30 killed.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but two security sources told news agency AFP it was caused by a suicide bomber wearing an explosive belt.

Video footage shared on social media after the blast showed bloodied victims and people screaming in terror.

The blast was so strong that it tore the roofs off some market stalls.

Refrigerators full of water bottles were horrifically drenched with blood, and shoes were strewn on the ground alongside fruit.

"A terror attack using a locally-made IED (improvised explosive device) in Woheilat Market in Sadr City, in east Baghdad, left several victims dead and others injured," Iraq's interior ministry said in a statement.

Iraqi President Barham Salih slammed the bombing in the densely populated majority-Shiite suburb of Sadr City as a "heinous crime".

He offered his condolences to the victims' families.

"They are targeting our civilians in Sadr City on the eve of Eid," Salih said in a message on Twitter.

He added: "They do not allow people to rejoice, even for a moment."

More to follow...

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