On Thursday, a wave of car bombs and mortar fire have left at least 160 people dead and 257 injured, making it the single most deadly attack in Baghdad since the 2003 US-led invasion. The bombings took place in Baghdad’s Sadr City district, a largely Shia neighborhood. The area is largely controlled by the Shia Mahdi Army, which has been accused in the past of carrying out sectarian attacks with the support of the health ministry. In retaliation for the Sadr City attacks, 10 mortar firings fell on the Abu Hanifa Sunni mosque, which is the holiest Sunni shrine in Baghdad.

In an effort to halt the cycle of violence, Baghdad authorities have placed the capital under curfew and shut down its international airport along with its air and sea ports in the south. Iraq’s health minister Ali al-Shemari warned that the death toll may rise since, “Many of the dead have been reduced to scattered body parts and are not counted yet.” The United Nations announced earlier this week that violent deaths last month alone reached a record high of 3,700 dead – mostly from sectarian violence.

However, Shia, Sunni, and Kurdish leaders all appealed for restraint amid the aftermath. At least three of the car bombs in Sadr City are believed to have been suicide attacks. A busy square, food market, and bus terminal were among the targets hit. News photographer Kareem al-Rubaie recounted what happened. “I saw a car from a wedding party, covered in ribbons and flowers. It was burning. There were pools of blood on the street and children dead on the ground.” Transportation and hospital services were put under heavy pressure by the large number of casualties. Dozens of bleeding and injured people were lying in hospital corridors, waiting for assistance.

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Update: The Estimated death toll now exceeds 200.