In a shocking incident, at least 28 have been killed and 73 were wounded in twin suicide bombings in Iraq's Baghdad.
Hospital and police officials said the death toll was much higher, with at least 27 dead and more than 60 wounded, an Associated Press report stated.
No one immediately took responsibility for the attack.
"The rare suicide bombing attack hit the Bab al-Sharqi commercial area in central Baghdad amid heightened political tensions over planned early elections and a severe economic crisis. Blood smeared the floors of the busy market amid piles of clothes and shoes as survivors took stock of the disarray in the aftermath," the report said.
The attack took place after security forces interrogated two suicide bombers who detonated their explosives in the market near Tayaran Square in central Baghdad's market area, according to military spokesman Yahya Rasool.
Meanwhile, Iraq's Health Ministry announced all of its hospitals in the capital were mobilized to treat the wounded.
The bombing was the first to occur in the last three years according to the AP report.