Dozens of people were killed and many more injured when a refrigerator truck loaded with explosives was detonated in Baghdad early Thursday morning.
Reports on the number of casualties vary at this stage. Police sources cited by the Associated Press said 62 people had died in the explosion, while another 125 were injured. Medical and police officials cited by Reuters put the casualty toll higher, saying at least 76 were killed and 212 people were wounded.
ISIS has claimed responsibility for the blast, saying it purposefully targeted crowded gathering places for Shiites, and vowed more attacks, AP reported. A statement from the group said it had aimed to hit a stronghold of the "charlatan army" of Shiite militias, according to Reuters.
Police said the blast hit early Thursday morning. "A refrigerator truck packed with explosives blew up inside Jameela market at around 6:00 a.m. [11:00 p.m. ET Wednesday]," police officer Muhsin al-Saedi said in a statement to Reuters. "Many people were killed and body parts were thrown on top of nearby buildings."
Jameela Market is one of the biggest locations for food wholesale in the Iraqi capital. Witnesses described charred fruit and vegetables strewn across the floor amid the debris and shrapnel in the blood-stained blast crater, Reuters reported.
Much of the busy market was incinerated by the explosion. Local Shiite residents were seen lifting corpses in bags and blankets, and rushing the wounded to hospitals in ambulances or cars, according to witnesses cited by AP.
The attack is one of the biggest Baghdad has seen since Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi came to power one year ago.