Baghdad: A car bomb blast in northern Baghdad left more than 50 people dead and 80 wounded Tuesday, a police source said.

"The car that was parked in a garage in al-Hurriya district, north Baghdad, has exploded leaving at least 130 casualties. All of them are civilians," sources told DPA.

The bomb ripped through the garage and a bus stop as well as striking an outdoor market and apartments in Hurriya, a predominantly Shia neighbourhood, according to the CNN website.

Sources added that the explosion, the biggest of its kind in the Iraqi capital for months, had left women and children among the dead and wounded.

The blast came as officials tried to tamp down violence in Shiite areas, where US and Iraqi forces have battled militias.

"Security forces sealed off the area and prevented vehicles and pedestrians from entering, while ambulances rushed the wounded to nearby hospitals for treatment," the source added.

 

Source : IANS