Suicide bombing kills at least 60 at police check post in south of Baghdad

AP
BAGHDAD, MARCH 6

A suicide bomber on Sunday rammed his explosives-laden fuel truck into a security checkpoint south of Baghdad, killing at least 60 people and wounding dozens, officials said, the latest episode in an uptick in violence in the war-ravaged country.
Among the dead were 11 civilians, while the rest were members of the security forces, The attacker struck shortly after noon when the checkpoint at one of the entrances to the city of Hillah was crowded with dozens of cars, a police officer said.
He added that up to 42 other people were wounded and more than 20 cars were damaged. Hillah is located about 95 kilometers (60 miles) south of Baghdad.
A medical official confirmed the causality figures. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to release information.
Iraq has seen a spike in violence in the past month with suicide attacks in and outside Baghdad killing more than 100 people.
IS and other Sunni militants frequently use car bombs and suicide attacks to target public areas and government buildings in their bid to undermine confidence in the Shiite-led government in Baghdad.
ISIS has claimed responsibility for a suicide attack south of Baghdad that has killed 60 people and left 70 others wounded this morning.
‘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 pro-ISIS Amaq website said.
Pictures posted on social media showed vast destruction around the checkpoint, where cars are usually bumper-to-bumper at that time of day, queueing to be checked by security personnel.
A doctor at Hilla hospital said at least 11 of the wounded were in a very serious condition.
The Islamic State group, which carries out nearly all such attacks, has not had fixed positions south of Baghdad since security forces and allied militias began their fightback against the jihadists in late 2014.
A March 2014 suicide bombing at a checkpoint on the outskirts of Hilla, 50 miles south of the capital, killed 50 people and wounded more than 150.