At least 39 people have been killed in a massive car bomb blast in a used car market in southern Baghdad on Thursday. This has been the third such attack in three days.

Number of casualties initially stood at 39 while 61 were wounded according to a police colonel who warned that the death toll may rise since emergency services were struggling to cope with the scope of the attack.

A Mobile phone footage circulated on social media showed charred bodies and extensive destruction in the Bayaa neighbourhood where the explosion went off around 4:15 pm (1315 GMT).

Four people were killed in a car bomb blast in the same Bayaa neighborhood in southern Baghdad on Tuesday and at least 11 were killed in a suicide car bomb attack claimed by the Islamic State Jihadist group on Wednesday in a northern neighborhood of the Iraqi capital.

The Islamic State group claimed Thursday’s blast, AFP reported.

Baghdad witnessed a wave of deadly suicide attacks by IS during the first few days of 2017, but the number had dropped until this week.