BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) – A suicide car bomber struck a busy commercial district Monday, killing at least 26 people and injuring more than 50, police said.

The attack near the well-known Mutanabi book market in central Baghdad was the first major blast in the city in several days – sending a huge pillar of black smoke as flames spread to shops, cars and book stalls.

The death toll from police was preliminary and could rise. At least 54 people were injured. The commercial zone is mixed between Sunni- and Shiite-owned businesses and shoppers.

“Papers from the book market were floating through the air like leaflets dropped from a plane,” said Naeem al-Daraji, a Health Ministry worker who was driving about 200 yards from the blast and was slightly injured by broken glass from his car window.

“Pieces of flesh and the remains of books were scattered everywhere,” he said.

People began driving the injured to hospitals in private cars without waiting for ambulances to arrive.

Sporadic car bombs and attacks have hit the capital in recent days, but none with mass casualties since a blast Friday killed at least 10 people.

In other violence, gunmen opened fire on Shiite pilgrims in two separate incidents around Baghdad on Monday, killing five people, police said.