The death toll from a massive car bombing in Baghdad at the weekend has risen to at 281, Iraqi Health Minister Adeela Hammoud said Thursday.

DNA samples have been collected from 150 families to identify the bodies charred beyond recognition, Hamoud told al-Iraqiya state TV.

The bomb went off at about 1 am Sunday (2200 GMT Saturday) in central Baghdad's predominantly Shiite district of Karrada.

At the time, families were shopping for presents for the Eid al-Fitr holiday at the end of Ramadan, and restaurants were crowded for the pre-dawn meal in preparation for a day of fasting.

More than 300 people were wounded at the time, and many died later in hospital of sustained injuries.

The incident was the deadliest since the US invasion of Iraq in 2003.

The Daesh terrorist group claimed responsibility for the attack. In a statement circulated online by Daesh supporters, which dpa could not verify, it claimed that a suicide bomber had targeted Shiites, which the extremist group considers as heretics.

The previous death toll from the ministry, announced on Tuesday, was 250.