By Xinhua
Baghdad : The death toll from the car bomb explosion in Baghdad’s Shiite bastion of Sadr City on Saturday, rose to 15 while up to 45 others were injured, an Interior Ministry source said.
“Our latest report said that 15 people were killed and 45others were injured in the car bomb explosion in Sadr City,” the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.
Women and children were among the casualties, the source said.
The attack occurred when a car bomb parked near the al-Naser police station and a popular market in the Sadr City neighborhood detonated in the afternoon, the source said earlier.
The blast also damaged several nearby civilian cars and shops, he added.
Iraqi security forces rushed to the area to secure the scene while ambulances ferried the victims to nearby hospitals, according to the source.
The sprawling Shiite slum of Sadr City is a stronghold for Mahdi Army militia loyal to radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr.