Baghdad car bomb kills at least 48

At least 48 people have been killed in Baghdad in the
 third blast in the Iraqi capital in three days, security and medical sources say.

A car packed with explosives blew up near car dealerships 
in the Shia area of Bayaa in the south of the city. More than 
50 people were injured.

At least 18 people died in another attack on used-car
 dealers on Wednesday and four were killed the day 
before.

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

Baghdad saw a wave of deadly suicide attacks by IS in
 the first few days of 2017, but the number had dropped 
until recently.

The IS group has stepped up its attacks since the Iraqi
 army, aided by US-led coalition strikes, launched its 
campaign to dislodge the Sunni militant group from its stronghold of Mosul in the north four months ago.

Wednesday's attack targeted the Habibya area of Sadr
 City, a suburb in the north of the Iraqi capital. The car 
bomb on Tuesday took place in the south of Baghdad
On 2 January, at least 35 people were killed in a bomb 
blast in Sadr City , in an attack claimed by IS.