Death toll from suicide bombing in Baghdad rises to 250

Mourners at a candlelight vigil for the victims of Sunday's suicide bombing in Baghdad.
(Image credit: Ahmad Al-Rubaye/AFP/Getty Images)

The death toll from a suicide bombing Sunday in Baghdad continues to rise, with the Iraqi government announcing Tuesday that at least 250 people were killed when a truck filled with explosives targeted a busy shopping area.

The attack is now the deadliest to take place in Iraq since 2003, the BBC reports. The bombing was in the Karrada district, a mostly Shia area, where families were shopping for Eid al-Fitr, the holiday at the end of the holy month of Ramadan. Buildings were engulfed in flames, and some of the bodies were charred so badly, they will have to undergo DNA testing for identification. Earlier, the government estimated the death toll was at 165.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.