53 killed in truck boming at Baghdad marketplace

Some 50 people were killed and more than 100 others wounded on Thursday at a crowded marketplace in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, a police source said.

"The latest reports said that 53 people were killed and more than 100 were wounded by the huge truck bomb explosion in eastern Baghdad," the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

The blast occurred at dawn when a refrigerator truck packed with explosives and camouflaged with vegetables and fruits detonated at Jamilah wholesale vegetable market at the Shiite bastion of Sadr City district in eastern Baghdad, the source said.

Many people went missing by the huge explosion, which destroyed many shops and stalls and set fire to several civilian cars, the source said.

Iraqi security forces cordoned off the area to secure the scene, while ambulances and civilian vehicles evacuated the victims to several hospitals and medical centers.

Earlier, the source put the toll at 36 killed and 75 others wounded by the powerful bombing.

The security situation in Iraq has drastically deteriorated since June 2014, when bloody clashes broke out between security forces and Islamic State militants.