A suicide bombing that has killed more than 100 people in eastern Iraq involved an attacker who lured his victims by selling ice at a busy market ahead of a Muslim holiday, local officials said Saturday.
The death toll in Friday night’s attack in Khan Bani Saad rose Saturday to 120, with 160 others injured, said Muthana al Tamimi, the governor of Diyala province.
ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack, one of the deadliest in recent months in Iraq, in a post on Twitter.
The market blast, in a predominantly Shiite area about 35 kilometers (21 miles) north of Baghdad, happened as hundreds were shopping the night before Eid al-Fitr, a joyous Muslim holiday that marks the end of Ramadan.
The bomber was posing as an ice seller, and lured hundreds of shoppers to his truck, which was packed with explosives, according to two local police officials.
Among the dead were 14 children and 13 women, al Tamimi said.
Videos posted on social media showed scenes of devastation — a large fire, and bodies and debris over a wide area. Several multistory buildings appeared to have been heavily damaged.
Daylight revealed a huge crater in the street where the vehicle had exploded
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Source: CNN