ISIL truck bomb kills 70, wounds at least 60, south of Baghdad

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ISIL truck bomb kills 70, wounds at least 60, south of Baghdad



BAGHDAD: -- The ISIL militant group has claimed responsibility for a suicide attack in Iraq which has killed at least 60 people, medical and security officials say.

More than 70 people were injured when an explosive-laden fuel tanker was detonated at a police checkpoint on the way into the city of Hilla, south of Baghdad.

Dozens of cars were at the checkpoint when the blast occurred, at just after noon local time.

An official from a local hospital confirmed the number of casualties. Many are reported to have suffered burn injuries.

Both police officers and civilians were among those killed, one report suggests.

Blame for the explosion was claimed via the Amaq news agency’s website. It supports the radical Sunni group.

“A martyr’s operation with a truck bomb hit the Babylon Ruins checkpoint at the entrance of the city of Hilla, killing and wounding dozens,” a statement on the site said.

Falah al-Radhi, the head of the provincial security committee, has called the incident “the largest bombing in the province to date.”

“The checkpoint, the nearby police station, were destroyed as well as some houses and dozens of cars,” he told Reuters news agency.


-- (c) Copyright Euronews 2016-03-07