Police estimate 80 killed in Baghdad bombing

A suicide truck bomber struck a food market in a predominantly Shiite area of Baghdad today, killing at least 80 people and wounding dozens, police and hospital officials said.

The attacker was driving a truck carrying food when he detonated his explosives, destroying stores and stalls that had been set up in the busy outdoor Sadriyah market, police said.

Officials said at least 80 people were killed and 150 wounded as nearby hospitals were flooded with victims from the blast.

The blast occurred at 4:40pm local time as the market was crowded with people buying food for their evening meal, the latest in a series of attacks against commercial targets in the capital as insurgents seek to maximise the number of people killed ahead of a planned US-Iraqi security sweep.