A suicide bombing claimed by the ISIL group killed at least 70 people, mainly pilgrims, south of Baghdad Thursday, in the latest ‘jihadist’ attack as Iraqi forces battle to retake Mosul.
The huge truck bomb blast ripped through a petrol station where buses packed with faithful returning from the Arbaeen commemoration in Holy Karbala were parked, officials said.
Most of the victims were Iranians, the largest contingent of foreigners in the pilgrimage, which is one of the world’s largest religious events and culminated on Monday.
The attack took place near a village called Shomali, about 120 kilometers (75 miles) southeast of Baghdad.
ISIL terrorist group claimed responsibility for the attack.
Falah al-Radhi, head of the provincial security committee for Babylon, the province where the bombing happened, said several buses were targeted.
“A large truck exploded among them. It was a suicide attack,” he told AFP. “There are at least 70 dead, fewer than 10 are Iraqis, the rest are Iranians.”
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 Radhi, who added that at least 20 wounded were transferred to nearby hospitals.
The Joint Operations Command in Baghdad issued a statement saying the truck was packed with 500 liters of ammonium nitrate, a chemical compound used in many explosive devices.
Source: Sputnik
