Baghdad bombing death toll upped to at least 250

6 July 2016, 2:48 pm

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A Baghdad bombing claimed by the Islamic State group killed at least 250 people, officials say, raising the toll of what was already one of the deadliest attacks in Iraq.

A suicide bomber detonated an explosives-rigged vehicle in Baghdad’s Karrada district early on Sunday as it teemed with shoppers ahead of the holiday marking the end of the holy Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, sparking infernos in nearby buildings.

Iraqi security forces keep watch on on July 5, 2016 at the site of a suicide car bomb attack which took place early on July 3 in Baghdad's Karrada neighborhood. (AFP /AHMAD AL-RUBAYE) — Iraqi security forces keep watch on on July 5, 2016, at the site of a suicide car bomb attack which took place early on July 3 in Baghdad’s Karrada neighborhood. (AFP /AHMAD AL-RUBAYE)

Health Minister Adila Hamoud tells AFP that the bombing killed 250 people and wounded 200.

A police colonel and an interior ministry official both give even higher death tolls for the attack.

Hamoud says that DNA testing would be required to identify more than half of the bodies and that the process was expected to take from 15 to 45 days, meaning that relatives of the missing may have to wait weeks to learn the fates of their loved ones.

— AFP