Suicide Bomb Attack Kills 47 and Injures 65 in South Baghdad

Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the suicide attack that has injured or killed over 60 people.

File Photo: Street vendors collect their belongings after deadly bombing attacks. (Photo: AP)

Iraqi officials say the death toll from a suicide truck bombing south of Baghdad has risen to 47 people killed and 65 others wounded. A police officer says that 39 civilians were killed in Sunday’s attack in the city of Hillah, while the rest of the dead were members of the security forces.

Islamic State has claimed responsibility for a suicide attack with an explosive-laden truck on an Iraqi police checkpoint at the entrance of the city of Hilla, south of Baghdad, killing or wounding at least 60 people.

Responsibility was claimed in a posting on the website of the Amaq news agency, which supports the Islamic State. More than 60 people were taken to nearby hospitals, said Falah al-Radhi, head of the provincial security committee, without saying how many were killed.

It’s the largest bombing in the province to date.

Falah al-Radhi, Head of the Provincial Security Committee

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

Hilla is the capital of the province of Babylon, a predominantly Shi’ite region with some Sunni presence. “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,” the statement on the Amaq website said.

(With inputs from wires)