At least 80 people have been killed and dozens wounded in a massive suicide truck bomb blast at a petrol station south of Iraq’s capital Baghdad, according to security sources.
The target of Thursday’s attack near the town of Hilla appeared to be Shia Muslim pilgrims returning from the annual Arbaeen pilgrimage in the holy city of Karbala.
The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) armed group claimed responsibility for the attack.
Al Jazeera’s Hoda Abdel-Hamid said, reporting from Erbil, said the attack involved a rigged petrol tanker which was parked near a petrol station with an adjacent restaurant popular with travellers.
“When the gas tanker blew, up it also torched several buses and minivans that were carrying the pilgrims,” Abdel-Hamid said .
“The head of the security [of Babil province, where the bombing happened] says the death toll so far is 80 people, but that is likely to rise as there are are several more in critical condition.”
“It is believed that among them are not only Iraqis, but some Iranians too, while some unconfirmed reports also say that there could be some Bahrainis among the victims.”
Videos circulating on social media showed debris scattered over a large area along the main highway linking Baghdad to the main southern port city of Basra.
“There are completely charred corpses at the scene,” said Falah al-Radhi, head of the provincial security committee, who added that at least 20 wounded were transferred to nearby hospitals.
The Joint Operations Command in Baghdad issued a statement saying the lorry was packed with 500 litres of ammonium nitrate, a chemical compound used in many explosive devices.
Source: Al Jazeera News and News Agencies
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