At least 62 people were killed by a bomb in a crowded market in Baghdad's sprawling slum neighbourhood of Sadr City on Wednesday, less than a week before US troops must pull out of Iraq's cities. Another 150 people were wounded in the attack in the predominantly Shiite district of northern Baghdad at around 7 pm (1600 GMT), the central operational command, the military's headquarters for its Baghdad operations, said.
A motorcycle rickshaw loaded with explosives that were covered with fruit and vegetables caused a massive blast, with women and children among the casualties and dozens of market kiosks damaged. The attacker jumped off the rickshaw in the middle of Mraidi market and managed to escape before the bomb was set off.
"The rickshaw was full of explosives, covered by vegetables," an interior ministry official said. The market area was closed off by Iraqi security forces in the aftermath of the bombing. "I heard a boom and saw a ball of fire," said 30-year-old father-of-two Najim Ali, who was shopping in the market when the bomb went off. "I saw cars flying in the air because of the force of the explosion," he added, saying he fainted shortly after the attack and awoke to find himself in a nearby hospital.