Baghdad market bombing kills 12: officials

Iraqi security forces and emergency personnel stand next to the wreckage of a car as they secure the site of a suicide bombing in the Baghdad Jadida area on April 25, 2016. The blast ripped through shops in eastern Baghdad, killing at least seven people. / AFP PHOTO / HAIDAR MOHAMMED ALI
Iraqi security forces and emergency personnel stand next to the wreckage of a car as they secure the site of a suicide bombing in the Baghdad Jadida area on April 25, 2016. The blast ripped through shops in eastern Baghdad, killing at least seven people. / AFP PHOTO / HAIDAR MOHAMMED ALI

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AFP) — A car bomb exploded near a market in a Shiite area of north Baghdad on Wednesday, killing at least 12 people, security and medical officials said.

The blast, which hit the Sadr City area at around 10 am (0700 GMT), also wounded 35 people, the officials said.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, but the Islamic State group often carries out bombings in Baghdad and elsewhere, especially targeting Shiite Muslims, whom it consider heretics.

Iraqi forces have regained significant ground from IS, which overran swathes of territory north and west of Baghdad in 2014.

But the jihadists still control a large part of western Iraq, and are able to carry out frequent bombings in government-held areas.