IS car bomb sows carnage in Iraq town

Baquba

A car bomb blast claimed by the Islamic State group ripped through the crowded heart of an Iraqi town north of Baghdad Friday, killing at least 35 people, officials said.

The attack occurred in a market area of the predominantly Shiite town of Khan Bani Saad as people shopped on the eve of the Eid al-Fitr holiday marking the end of Ramadan.

"We have 35 martyrs and more than 70 wounded," said Mohammed Jawad al-Hamadani, a member of the Diyala provincial council in which Khan Bani Saad is located. 

"The explosion was big, it caused a lot of damage," Raad Fares al-Mas, a member of parliament, said from nearby Baquba, the capital of Diyala. 

Many women and children were among the victims, the officials said.

Footage aired on Iraqi television showed devastation around the bomb site, with several buildings completely gutted by the blast and debris strewn over a huge area. 

The wounded were being attended to on the street as residents walked about in the chaos holding their heads, imploring God and screaming in horror.

Six hours after the blast, rescuers were still pulling bodies from the wreckage, a police officer said.

Khan Bani Saad is less than 20 kilometres (12 miles) from Baghdad's sprawling northern neighbourhood of Sadr City.