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 wiped out and many victims
were burned beyond recognition.
So-called Islamic State (IS) has said it carried out the suicide
attack.
Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi visited the mainly Shia area on
Sunday but his convoy was greeted by angry crowds.
His office later announced the three days of mourning, adding
that Mr Abadi understood the angry reaction of residents.
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 scene in the minutes after the blast showed the
whole area engulfed in flames.
"We need a number of days to be able to recover the bodies
of victims. It is a difficult task," a member of the civil defence forces
quoted by AFP news agency said.
"The lists of victims I saw included whole families - the
father and his sons, the mother and her daughters - whole families were wiped
out by this explosion."
A second bomb exploded shortly afterwards in another
predominantly Shia area north of the capital, killing another five people.
IS, which
follows its own extreme version of Sunni Islam, said in an online statement
that the attack in Karrada was carried out by an Iraqi as part of "ongoing
security operations".
The US said on Sunday that the latest attack strengthened its
resolve to support Iraqi forces in their fight against IS.
"We remain united with the Iraqi people and government in
our combined efforts to destroy Isil," the White House statement said,
using another term for the group.
UN Iraq envoy Jan Kubis described the violence as a
"cowardly and heinous act of unparalleled proportions".
He said that IS militants who have "suffered defeats at the
battlefront are seeking to avenge their losses by targeting vulnerable
civilians".
Later on Sunday, Mr
Abadi also announced increased security measures including the scrapping of "magic wand" fake
bomb detectors which
are still being used at checkpoints in Iraq despite being exposed as a scam
several years ago.
He also ordered that improved vehicle inspection systems be
installed at entry points into Baghdad and in other provinces.
Deadly IS
attacks in 2016
9 June 2016: At least 30 people killed in and around Baghdad in two suicide
attacks claimed by IS
17 May 2016: Four bomb
blasts kill 69 people in Baghdad; three of the targets were
Shia areas
11 May 2016: Car
bombs in Baghdad kill 93 people,
including 64 in market in Shia district of Sadr City
1 May 2016: Two car
bombs kill at least 33 people in southern city of Samawa
26 March 2016: Suicide attack targets football match in central city of
Iskandariya,killing at least 32
6 March 2016: Fuel tanker blown up at checkpoint near central city of Hilla, killing 47
28 February 2016: Twin suicide bomb attacks hit market in Sadr City, killing 70
Representative
Image
Source: BBC
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