At least 57 Shiite pilgrims dead in Iraq truck bomb explosion

A truck bomb, not pictured, exploded at a highway filling station near Hilla, Iraq on November 24, 2016, killing at least 57 Shiite pilgrims aboard parked buses. Pictured, Iraqi civilians flee from fighting between Iraqi forces and Islamic State fighters in Qayara town, some 50 kilometers south of Mosul, northern Iraq. Tuesday, November 01, 2016. Photo by Murat Bay/UPI

HILLA, Iraq, Nov. 24 (UPI) — At least 57 people were killed Thursday when a truck bomb exploded near buses parked at a Hilla, Iraq, filling station, Iraq’s Joint Operation Command said.

The victims aboard the crowded buses were Shiite pilgrims, largely Iranian nationals, traveling home from Iraq after a religious observance. The explosion occurred in the on a highway between Babel and Al-Qadisiyyah in the suburbs of Hilla, about 75 miles southeast of Baghdad.

Falah al Rahdi, head of the Babel security council, added that at least 50 people were injured.

The Islamic State, in an online statement, took responsibility for the incident.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry condemned the carnage, expressing sympathy with the Iraqi government and the victims’ families; ministry spokesman Bahram Qassemi said its Baghdad embassy is “investigating the issue with seriousness.”

“These brutal and inhumane acts will not affect the Iraqi government and nation’s determination and the Islamic Republic of Iran’s support for the oppressed Iraqi people in the unrelenting fight against terrorism.”

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here