Shortly after the explosion, one of the deadliest recently in the Iraqi capital, the Sunni extremist group — which sees Shiite Muslims as apostates — said it was behind the assault. IS said the attack was carried out by a suicide bomber, but Iraqi officials denied that.

The bomb struck a crowded outdoor market in Baghdad's eastern district of Sadr City, two police officials said, adding that the blast also wounded up to 50 people, several seriously, prompting fears the death toll could rise further. Several cars and nearby buildings were also heavily damaged, they said.

Karim Salih, a 45-year old grocer, said the bomb was a pickup truck loaded with fruits and vegetables that was parked by a man who quickly disappeared among the crowds of people.

"It was such a thunderous explosion that jolted the ground," Salih told The Associated Press.

"The force of the explosion threw me for meters and I lost conscious for a few minutes," the merchant added. He suffered no injuries, but two of his workers were wounded.

Four medical officials confirmed the casualty figures. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity as they are not authorized to release the information to reporters.

In its online statement, IS said it had carried out a suicide attack that targeted a gathering of Shiite militiamen. The AP could not immediately verify the authenticity of the claim but it appeared on a website commonly used by the Sunni militants.

IS also a controls significant area in northern and western Iraq, including Iraq's second-largest city of Mosul. Commercial and public places in Shiite-dominated areas are among the most frequent targets for the Sunni militants seeking to undermine Iraqi government efforts to maintain security inside the capital.

While IS has suffered a number of territorial defeats in the past year, the militants are still capable of launching significant attacks across the country, and have recently stepped-up assaults inside Baghdad, something officials say is an attempt to distract from their recent battlefield defeats.

In February, the group carried out devastating back-to-back market bombings in Sadr City, the stronghold of followers of an influential Shiite cleric. That attack claimed the lives of at least 73 people.

According to the United Nations, at least 741 Iraqis were killed in April due to ongoing violence. The UN mission to Iraq put the number of civilians killed at 410, while the rest it said were members of the security forces. A total of 1,374 Iraqis were wounded that month, UNAMI said.

In March, at least 1,119 people were killed and 1,561 wounded in the ongoing violence.

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Associated Press writer Murtada Faraj in Baghdad contributed to this report.

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