The death toll of a car bomb explosion in Baghdad on Wednesday morning has risen to 75, police said. More than 162 others were also wounded.

The blast occurred in the Kazimiyah district near a group of construction workers who were gathering at Oruba square to be hired for daily work. The suicide driver drove his car into the gathering before detonating the explosive charge.

The dead and wounded have been taken to hospitals, the police said. The number of fatalities was expected to rise.

In another development, 17 people were also killed by a group of gunmen near Baghdad early Wednesday morning, police said.

The gunmen dragged 17 civilians out of their homes in Taji, 15 km north of Baghdad, and killed them, police added.

Source: Xinhua