Powerful blast kills at least nine people and wounds dozens in crowded street of mainly Shia suburb of Iraqi capital.

A suicide bomber detonated a pick-up truck packed with explosives in northern Baghdad on Wednesday, killing at least nine people, according to Iraqi officials.

Thirty others were wounded in the powerful blast in the Habibiya area, near Sadr City, a Shia majority neighbourhood in the Iraqi capital.

The explosion targeted a crowded street full of garages and used car dealers.

The attack came a day after a car bomb explosion in southern Baghdad killed at least four people.

The Iraqi capital was rocked by a wave of deadly suicide bombings during the first days of 2017 but relatively few explosions had been reported since.

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There was no immediate claim of responsibility for Wednesday's blast, but nearly all suicide attacks are claimed by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) armed group.

In January 2, ISIL, which often targets crowded areas to maximise casualties, claimed responsibility for a suicide car bombing that killed 39 people in a busy market in Sadr City.

ISIL is defending Mosul, its last major stronghold in Iraq, against a massive, four-month-old operation by an alliance of forces.</s>A suicide bomber detonated an explosives-laden vehicle in a Shiite majority neighbourhood of Baghdad on Wednesday, killing at least nine people, an interior ministry official said.

Thirty others were wounded in the explosion in the Habibiya area, near the vast district of Sadr City in northern Baghdad, the official said.

A hospital official and a colonel in the Baghdad police confirmed the toll from the blast, which struck in an area where many car dealerships are found.

On Tuesday a car bomb explosion in southern Baghdad killed at least four people, according to the same sources.

The Iraqi capital was rocked by a wave of deadly suicide bombings during the first days of 2017 but relatively few explosions had been reported since.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for Wednesday's blast but nearly all suicide attacks are claimed by the Islamic State jihadist group, which is defending its last major Iraqi bastion of Mosul against a massive, four-month-old operation by the security forces.</s>Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Car dealer: "They killed poor people"

At least 48 people have been killed in Baghdad in the third blast in the Iraqi capital in three days, security and medical sources say.

A car packed with explosives blew up near car dealerships in the Shia area of Bayaa in the south of the city. More than 50 people were injured.

The Islamic State (IS) group claimed the attack, saying it targeted "a gathering of Shias".

At least 24 people were killed in other attacks on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Baghdad saw a wave of deadly suicide attacks by IS in the first few days of 2017, but the number had dropped until recently.

An AFP reporter at the scene of Thursday's bomb reported seeing numerous burnt-out vehicles, and blood on the ground.

Image copyright AFP Image caption A large crater was left at the scene of the blast

Image copyright AFP Image caption Numerous building were also destroyed in Thursday's blast

Security sources said the bomb was detonated in a busy street and was the deadliest attack in Baghdad for several months. A plume of smoke from the blast could be seen above the Bayaa neighbourhood for much of the day.

Medics have warned the number of fatalities and injuries could rise as they struggle to cope with scores of people wounded in the attack.

It is thought that car dealerships may present convenient targets for the militants because it is easy for them to leave vehicles laden with explosives alongside lots of other vehicles that are also parked in the same area.

As the clear-up operation gets underway, distressed relatives are reported to be at the scene desperate to find news of their loved ones.

The IS group has stepped up its attacks since the Iraqi army, aided by US-led coalition strikes, launched its campaign to dislodge the Sunni militant group from its stronghold of Mosul in the north four months ago.

The militants now control the west of the city, while the eastern part is held by Iraqi forces and their allies.

Image copyright Reuters Image caption Baghdad has been hit by three bombings in as many days

On Wednesday, an attack on used-car dealers in the Habibya area of Sadr City, a suburb in the north of the Iraqi capital, left 18 dead.

On Tuesday, a car bomb in the south of Baghdad killed four people.

On 2 January, at least 35 people were killed in a bomb blast in Sadr City, in an attack claimed by IS.</s>A car bomb has struck Baghdad's southwestern al-Bayaa neighbourhood overnight, killing at and wounding dozens.

The death toll is at 48 and more than 50 people were injured according to the BBC.

Police and medical officials said the bombing targeted car dealerships.

Baghdad has been the scene of near daily bomb attacks claimed by ISIS in what is seen as an attempt to distract attention as the militants cede territory along front lines in northern and western Iraq.

No one has immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.</s>No fewer than 48 deaths have been recorded in Baghdad following a car bomb explosion in the Shia area of al-Bayaa in the south of the city. The explosion came from a car which was filled with explosives and parked near a car dealership in Shia. This is the third blast to occur in Baghdad in three days. The first car bomb attack occurred on Tuesday in the south of Baghdad while another attack on used-car dealers happened on Wednesday, killing 18 people.Asides the 48 people killed in today's bomb blast, security and medical sources say that over 50 people were injured.No sect has claimed responsibility for this latest attack.</s>A car bomb in Baghdad has killed at least 48 people and injured dozens of others, according to medics.

The explosion ripped through Iraq's capital shortly before sunset on Thursday.

The car bomb claimed the lives of at least 48 people, and reportedly wounded more than 50 others, after exploding in the southwestern al-Bayaa neighborhood.

Officials speaking on the condition of anonymity said the bombing had targeted cars agents and dealers.

According to reports the bombing has been claimed by the so-called Islamic State.</s>A car packed with explosives blew up on Thursday in southern Baghdad, killing at least 48 people and wounding 55, security and medical sources said, in the deadliest such attack in Iraq this year.

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil), which is on the defensive after losing control of eastern Mosul to a US-backed Iraqi military offensive, claimed responsibility for the bombing in an online statement.

As it cedes territory captured in a 2014 offensive across northern and western Iraq, the ultra-hardline group has stepped up insurgent strikes on government areas, particularly in the capital Baghdad.</s>BAGHDAD – A car bomb has struck Baghdad‘s southwestern al-Bayaa neighbourhood shortly before sunset Thursday, killing at least 15 and wounding 25 others, a police officer and medical official said.

The officials said the bombing targeted cars agents and dealers. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief reporters.

Baghdad has been the scene of near daily bomb attacks claimed by the Islamic State group in what is seen as an attempt to distract attention as the militants cede territory along front lines in northern and western Iraq.

No one has immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.</s>BAGHDAD — A car bomb in Baghdad killed at least 47 people and wounded nearly more than 60 on Thursday, Iraq's Interior Ministry said.

 

 Ministry spokesman Brig. Gen. Saad Maan confirmed the toll from the attack, which took place in the southwestern al-Bayaa neighborhood.

 

 The Islamic State group claimed the bombing in an online statement circulated by its Aamaq news agency. The Sunni extremist group said it was targeting Shiite Muslims.

 

 Iraqi officials said the bomb targeted car dealerships in the mostly Shiite neighborhood.

 

 The extremist group has carried out near-daily attacks in Baghdad despite suffering military setbacks elsewhere in the country, including in the northern city of Mosul, where U.S.-backed Iraqi forces have been waging a major operation since October.

 

 Another four attacks in and around Baghdad on Thursday killed eight people and wounded around 30, police and medical officials said. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief reporters.

BAGHDAD — Iraqi state TV says the death toll from the Baghdad car bomb has risen to 45. Islamic State has claimed the attack.

A car bomb has struck Baghdad's southwestern al-Bayaa neighborhood shortly before sunset Thursday, killing at least 15 and wounding 25 others, a police officer and medical official said.

The officials said the bombing targeted car dealerships. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief reporters.

Baghdad has been the scene of near daily bomb attacks claimed by the Islamic State group in what is seen as an attempt to distract attention as the militants cede territory along front lines in northern and western Iraq.

No one has immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.</s>A suicide car bomb blew up on Wednesday in Sadr City, a heavily populated poor Shi'ite suburb of Baghdad, killing at least 15 and wounding 50, security sources said.
A car bomb explodes in a Shi'ite neighbourhood in Baghdad, killing at least 48 people. ISIL claimed responsibility for the bombing.