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Blast In Baghdad's Sadr City Kills At Least 35

Updated

People look at a burned vehicle at the site of car bomb attack in a busy square in Baghdad's sprawling Sadr City district on January 2.
People look at a burned vehicle at the site of car bomb attack in a busy square in Baghdad's sprawling Sadr City district on January 2.

At least 35 people have been killed and dozens of others wounded by an explosion in a packed square in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad.

The blast occurred on January 2 at an intersection in the northeastern Shi'ite neighborhood of Sadr City and reportedly struck a place where many day laborers wait for jobs.

Police said a car bomb was used in the attack.

The Sunni extremist group Islamic State (IS) claimed responsibility for the attack via its Amaq news agency.

IS has carried out numerous attacks in Baghdad in the recent weeks, targeting predominantly Shi'ite areas.

Three bombs killed 29 people in the capital on December 31 and an attack by two suicide bombers at a checkpoint the following day in the southern city of Najaf -- a holy city for Shi'a -- killed at least eight people.

Iraqi and U.S.-backed forces are fighting to oust IS militants from the northern city of Mosul.

Based on reporting by Reuters and AFP

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