World

More blasts hit mourning Baghdad

09:49 am on 5 July 2016

A round of blasts has been heard in the Iraqi capital Baghdad, as the city mourns the deaths of at least 175 people killed in a massive suicide bombing.

An Iraqi woman whose flat was destroyed in a massive bombing in Baghdad's Karrada neighbourhood reacts as she visits the aftermath of the attack. Photo: AFP

A witness who lives near the airport heard 20 to 30 explosions that a security source said was a bombardment targeting the secured perimeter of the airport where a camp for Iranian dissidents is located.

The shelling caused casualties among residents of the camp, the opposition People's Mujahideen Organisation of Iran (PMOI) spokesman Shahriar Kia said, but he didn't indicate a number.

Shahriar Kia said more than 50 mortar rounds hit the camp setting several caravans on fire. He said the bombardment caused casualties among residents, but he didn't indicate a number.

Mr Kia said the group suspected "Iraqi groups affiliated with the Iranian" government were responsible for the shelling.

The PMOI sided with former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein during Iran's war with Iraq in the 1980s but fell out of favour with Baghdad after he was toppled by a US-led invasion in 2003.

The PMOI have since come under attack several times in Iraq. Their camp near the airport was previously shelled in October.

An Iraqi Airways plane at Baghdad International Airport (file). Photo: AFP

It was not clear if any of the airport's facilities were hit.

Iraq bomb death toll rises to 175

The shelling came as Iraq is mourning the victims of this week's massive suicide bomb attack in a popular shopping and market area in Baghdad. The death toll from that attack has risen to at least 175, although some reports put it as high as 215.

The funeral of one of scores of people killed in a suicide attack on Baghdad's Karrada district. Photo: AFP

Iraq is in three days of official mourning over the huge suicide blast at Baghdad's Karrada district around midnight on Saturday.

A lorry packed with explosives was detonated while families were shopping for the holiday marking the end of Ramadan.

It is believed to be the deadliest single bomb attack in Iraq since 2007.

A second bomb also exploded at about midnight in a predominantly Shi'ite area north of the capital, killing another five people.

The bombings came a week after Iraqi security forces recaptured the city of Falluja from Islamic State militants. Authorities say the city was used as a launch pad for attacks on Baghdad.

Islamic State still controls large swathes of territory in the country's north and west, including Mosul, Iraq's second largest city.

But the group has been under pressure in Iraq and in neighbouring Syria, where it has been targeted by government forces and US-backed rebels.