Baghdad bomb blast toll reaches 165

The government has declared three days of mourning after the huge blast, which also injured 225 others, BBC News reports.

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

Rescuers said whole families had been killed. Many people were badly burned.

So-called Islamic State (IS) has said it carried out the suicide attack.

Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi was greeted by angry crowds when he visited the mainly Shia Muslim area in the hours after the bombing.

His office said Mr Abadi understood the reaction of residents and would increase security by banning "magic wand" fake bomb detectors and improving vehicle inspections at roads into the city.

As night fell on Sunday, teams of workers were still clearing debris from the site and searching the charred remnants of buildings.

The bombing at around midnight on Saturday was the deadliest in Iraq this year and came a week after Iraqi forces recaptured the city of Falluja from IS.
Reports said a refrigerator van had been packed with explosives and left near the popular al-Hadi Centre.

Footage from the minutes just after the blast showed the whole area engulfed in flames.

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