Car bomb kills 12 in Baghdad

A car bomb ripped through a busy market area in eastern Baghdad on Monday, killing at least 12 people, Iraqi officials said.

The explosives-laden car went off at the wholesale Jamila market in Baghdad’s Shia district of Sadr City, a police officer said. The explosion also wounded 28 other people, he added, saying the death toll was expected to rise.

A medical official confirmed the casualty figures. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to talk to journalists.

A plume of thick black smoke billowed from the area and people were running away in panic. At the site, twisted metal and shards of glass littered the pavement, along with vegetables and other goods sold at the market.

At least one soldier was seen being evacuated from the scene, which was sealed off by security forces.

The Islamic State group quickly claimed responsibility in an online statement on its Amaq news agency. The Associated Press could not verify the authenticity of the statement.

ISIS TO EVACUATE SYRIALEBANON BORDER ZONE

The Syrian army and Hezbollah on Monday prepared to escort Islamic State fighters to eastern Syria from their enclave on the border with Lebanon under an agreement following a week-long offensive against the group.

It will end any Sunni militant presence on the border, an important goal for Lebanon and the Shia Hezbollah group, and is the first time IS has publicly agreed to a forced evacuation from territory it held in Syria.

Islamic State agreed a ceasefire on Sunday with the Lebanese army on one front and the Syrian army and Hezbollah on the other after losing much of its mountainous enclave, paving the way for its evacuation. Both Hezbollah and Lebanon have billed the evacuation as a surrender.