(MENAFN- The Peninsula) BAGHDAD: At least 18 people were killed Tuesday when the Turkmen-majority Tuz Khurmatu district in Iraq's Saladin province north of Baghdad was rocked by a massive car bomb, according to a local security source.

'A booby-trapped vehicle exploded at noon Tuesday near a crowded market in Tuz Khurmatu, killing 18 people and injuring more than 40 more, Police First Lieutenant Numan al-Jubouri told Anadolu Agency.

According to al-Jubouri, the blast also damaged several nearby structures and vehicles parked in the area.

While no group has claimed responsibility for the bombing, the Iraqi authorities typically blame such attacks on the IS terrorist group, which has recently suffered a string of defeats -- both in Iraq and in neighboring Syria.

In mid-October, Iraqi forces seized control of Tuz Khurmatu following the withdrawal of Kurdish Peshmerga fighters from the majority-Turkmen district.

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