Islamic State (Isis) has claimed responsibility for the killing of 34 people at a market place in the majority Shia area of Baghdads Sadr city. An SUV laden with explosives was detonated in the commercial district at rush hour, in an attack designed to cause maximum casualties.

Reuters reported that the vehicle was outside a beauty salon in the eastern districts Iraqi capital. Forty-five people were injured in the attack, after the death toll rose from an initial 18 to 34, according to AFP.

IS (Daesh) said it had carried out the bombing in an online statement. The militant group, which holds swathes of territory in Iraq and neighbouring Syria, said it targeted Shia militia men in the area.

In late February, IS claimed responsibility for a series of attacks in Baghdad and Abu Grahib, killing more than 80. A double suicide bombing in Sadr City at a market killed 73, with as many as 112 wounded.

On 1 May, Shia protesters stormed Baghdads green zone, breaking into the countrys national parliament. The demonstrators aligned with powerful Shia Muslim cleric Muqtada al-Sadr were protesting delays over the ratification of a new Iraqi cabinet.

Al-Sadr, who rose to prominence during the US invasion of Iraq, has called on his followers to put pressure on the government over issues of corruption.