Blast kills dozens in Iraq

BAGHDAD - The deadliest blast to strike Iraq's capital in nearly two years tore through a busy market Thursday, killing at least 60 people in an attack claimed by the Islamic State as efforts to turn back the militants on the battlefield stagnate.

The carnage from a bomb-packed refrigerated truck in the Shiite neighborhood of Sadr City highlighted the extremist group's ability to continue to wreak havoc in Iraq's seat of power.

Residents scrambled to rescue survivors from the twisted wreckage in the Jameela market, which was packed with early-morning traders buying wholesale supplies for their stores.

Despite a year-long U.S.-led bombing campaign against the group - and the presence of nearly 3,000 American troops advising and training Iraqi forces - Iraq has struggled to retake territory from the extremists.

Gen. Ray Odierno, the U.S. Army chief of staff, gave a bleak assessment of the battle against the militants, describing it as a "kind of stalemate" in a final Pentagon news conference Wednesday before his retirement.

A counteroffensive for the western city of Ramadi, first announced in late May, has made limited progress, stalling on the outskirts of the city. Ground forces have been held up by hundreds of roadside bombs, while bridges into the city have been destroyed. Meanwhile, Shiite militia forces, which have done the bulk of the fighting elsewhere, have been excluded from the operation.

As the battle drags on, Shiite neighborhoods in Baghdad such as Sadr City are paying a heavy cost. Many young Shiites are fighting and dying for the security forces and Shiite militias, while they also face bombing attacks at home. Sadr City is a frequent target for suicide and car bombings by the Sunni-led Islamic State, a radical al-Qaeda offshoot also known as ISIS and ISIL.

In its assertion of responsibility for Thursday's blast, the Islamic State described Sadr City as one of the "strongholds" of the Shiite militias it is fighting, and it warned of more attacks.

"What is coming is worse and more bitter," the group said. It claimed that nearly 90 people were killed and 200 injured but provided no evidence to back up the figures.

State Department spokesman John Kirby condemned the attack. "The United States continues to stand shoulder to shoulder with the Iraqi people as they confront ISIL and the violence it represents," Kirby said in a statement Thursday.

The force of the blast ripped off the metal shelters over stalls in the covered market. Video showed the dead and injured being carried from the debris over vegetables strewn on the ground.

Radhi al-Saidi, a shopkeeper who said two of his workers were killed, said the bomb-laden truck was known at the market and brought tomatoes to sell every week. It was parked the night before, he said.

Hakim al-Zamili, the head of parliament's defense and security committee, said 60 people were killed and 17 remained missing. He described it as the biggest bomb attack ever carried out on the neighborhood.

Haider Fadl, a local council member, put the death toll at more than 60 and said the wounded numbered in the hundreds. The Associated Press, citing police sources, reported that at least 67 were killed.

The death toll was the highest in Baghdad since twin bombings targeted a Shiite funeral and a nearby area in September 2013, killing at least 72 people.

"It's the most busy hour for the market, when the businessmen come to buy vegetables to sell in their shops," he said. "People lost many loved ones. Their jobs and their shops have been destroyed. They are very angry."

The bombing is a blow to Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, who was enjoying a popularity boost after announcing a sweeping crackdown on corruption and excessive government spending.

While Abadi has pledged to build bridges with Iraq's Sunni community - an effort that the United States sees as a crucial step in chipping away support for the Islamic State - Sunnis in Iraq still complain of mistrust and marginalization at the hands of the Shiite-led government.