At least 50 killed in suicide attacks in southern Iraq

BAGHDAD – Reuters

At least 50 people died in a suicide attacks in a southern Iraqi city on Sept. 14, with more than 80 wounded, a health official and police sources said.

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) claimed responsibility for the attacks.

he director of Nassiriya’s health directorate, Jasim al-Khalidi, said the city’s hospital received 50 bodies and the death toll could rise due to the critical condition of some of the wounded The attacks started with militants opening fire at the checkpoint and the restaurant on the main highway that links Baghdad with the southern provinces. That was followed by two suicide bombers, including one driving an explosives-laden car,  said Yahya al-Nassir, governor of Iraq’s southern Thi Qar province.

Al-Nassiri said the majority of the dead are expected to be Iranian pilgrims who were inside the restaurant.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. The Islamic State group often claims responsibility for large-scale attacks targeting security forces and Shiite civilians in Iraq.