Huge truck bomb in Baghdad market kills 54

Afrasianet - Iraqi police officials say a massive truck bomb has ripped through a popular Baghdad food market in the early morning hours, killing at least 54 people.

The two police officials say the truck detonated in the Jameela market in Baghdad’s crowded Sadr City neighborhood shortly after dawn on Thursday. They say at least 86 people were wounded in the attack.

Three hospital officials confirmed the casualty figures. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity as they're not authorized to speak to the media.

Meanwhile, Reuters citing police and medical sources reported earlier that at least 60 people were killed and 200 wounded on Thursday.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast, but Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), ultra-radical Sunni Muslim militants who seized swathes of northern Iraq last year, have claimed similar attacks targeting Shiite neighborhoods.

(With AP and Reuters)