24 killed in truck bomb explosion near Iraq's Baghdad

Up to 24 people were killed and some 38 others wounded on Saturday when a truck bomb detonated at a suburb near the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, an Interior Ministry source told Xinhua.

The attack occurred in the morning when a booby-trapped truck went off at a crowded livestock market in Nahrawan area in southeastern Baghdad, the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

Earlier, the source put the toll at eight killed and some 30 others wounded by the massive blast.

The source could not confirm whether the toll is final, as many of the killed and wounded people were evacuated by ambulances and civilian cars to different hospitals and medical centers in the city.

Iraq is currently witnessing a wave of violence since the Islamic State group took control of parts of Iraq's northern and western regions in June 2014.

Earlier, a report by the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) estimated that 1,119 Iraqis were killed and 1,561 others wounded in acts of terrorism, violence and armed conflict in March across Iraq.

Source: XINHUA