Car bomb (illustration)
Car bomb (illustration)Thinkstock

The White House on Saturday condemned a car bombing in Iraq by the Islamic State group (ISIS) that killed at least 90 people.

The attack, one of the deadliest in Iraq's turbulent history, was carried out Friday as the country marked Eid al-Fitr -- the end of the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan.

The car bombing "purposefully and viciously targeted Iraqi civilians" celebrating the holiday, said National Security Council spokesman Ned Price.

"This latest attack is yet another painful example of the atrocities that the terrorist group ISIL continues to perpetrate against the people of Iraq," he added in a statement, using an acronym by which the group is known.

"The United States will continue to support the government of Iraq and its security forces to degrade and ultimately destroy this terrorist organization."

The attack came in a busy market north of Baghdad. The Islamic State claimed responsibility and said the suicide attacker had three tonnes of explosives in his vehicle.

The crater the explosion left in the main street of the town's central Al-Khan neighborhood was about five meters wide and two deep (16 feet wide and more than six deep).

Residents recounted scenes of horror in the aftermath of Friday's attack, in which officials said at least 15 children died. 

Muthanna Saadoun, a municipal employee who drives a street sweeper, used his truck to help put out the fires that the blast caused in the market area.

"People were burning in their cars because no ambulances or fire engines were able to reach them," the 25-year-old stated to AFP.