Another 120 were wounded when two bombs exploded within minutes of each other on Thursday evening in Baghdad's mainly Shi'ite Karrada district, police said.

The incident was the single bloodiest attack in Baghdad since last April.

The streets were packed at the time of Thursday's blasts with vendors selling goods on sidewalks and locals shopping at the start of the Muslim weekend.

Iraqi and US officials said a roadside bomb exploded first. Minutes later, as Iraqi security forces and locals gathered to tend to the casualties, there was a second, larger blast. Women and children were among the casualties.

Police and the US military said they believed the second explosion was caused by a suicide bomber.