55 dead in Baghdad market blast

BAGHDAD - At least 55 people were killed and more than 115 wounded Wednesday in a bomb blast in a crowded market here, witnesses said.

The explosion took place in the crowded Maridi market in the eastern Sadr City area of the Iraqi capital.

The bomb was concealed under a vegetable cart, witnesses said.

Iraqi police sealed off the area while the sirens of ambulances transferring the victims were clearly heard, according to witnesses.

The huge explosion caused great damage to a number of shops and set some parked cars ablaze.

The attack - one of the deadliest so far this year in Iraq - comes less than a week before US soldiers withdraw from Iraqi cities, as part of President Barack Obama’s staged pullout from Iraq.