According to Hamoud, another 200 people were injured by the blast, responsibility for which was claimed by the ISIL extremist group.

Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi declared three days of mourning in the wake of the attack, which occurred in Baghdad’s central Al-Karada district before dawn on Sunday.

The bombing was swiftly claimed by ISIL, which in 2014 overran vast swathes of territory in northern and western Iraq. 

Visiting the blast site in the wake of the attack, al-Abadi attributed the deadly bombing to the extremist group’s recent territorial losses.

"The extremists carried out this bombing… after being crushed at the battle of Fallujah," he said. 

The city of Fallujah was recaptured from ISIL by Iraqi forces last week.