At least 76 people were killed in a Baghdad food market after a massive truck bombed ripped through the area today.Around 200 people were wounded in the blast in Sadr City, a district of Iraq’s capital. Islamic State militants claimed responsibility for the attack. The group frequently targets predominantly Shiite neighborhoods such as Sadr City, with the goal of sending a message to the Shiite-dominated government. SIL overran large parts of Iraq in June 2014 and also holds significant territory in neighbouring Syria. Iraqi security forces and armed groups are fighting ISIL in Anbar province, the sprawling Sunni heartland in western Iraq. The US spent billions of dollars to train and equip the army for the fight against ISIL.Residents of the Shia community rushed to help the victims, carrying corpses in garbage bags and sending the wounded to local hospitals in ambulances or in personal cars. The blast incinerated much of the market, leaving charred wooden market stalls and scattering fruits and vegetables far around it.Fire trucks and ambulances rushed to the scene and fire men were dousing the still-smoldering complex with water long after the explosion. He said the truck that set off the explosion was a refrigeration truck, so it was impossible to distinguish it from other trucks delivering produce to the market.
pk.shafaqna.com
