By Ibrahim Saleh
BABEL, (AA): A suicide bomb attack killed at least 90 people Thursday evening at a gas station near the Iraqi city of Hilla, the center of the Babil province located 100 kilometers south of the capital Baghdad, Iraqi local sources said.
Hilla is situated between Kerbala and Najaf, two cities home to important religious sites.The pilgrims were coming from Karbala after commemmorating Arabeen, 40th of martyrdom of Prophet Muhammad’s grandson, Imam Husayn.
Local medical sources from the health directorate in Babil province told Anadolu Agency — on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on speaking to media — that the hospitals in the area had received at least 75 dead bodies, adding another 45 were injured.
The blast reportedly occurred as buses carrying Iranian and Iraqi pilgrims were waiting at a gas station.
A large number of deaths and injuries were of Iranian visitors, the medical sources said.
Hundreds of thousands of Iranians come to Iraq each year to visit holy Muslim shrines and attend religious ceremonies.
The terrorist group Daesh took responsibility for the attack on websites sympathetic to the group.
Turkey “strongly” condemned the terror attack in Iraq’s Babil province.
In statement issued on Thursday, the Foreign Ministry said Turkey conveyed its condolences to the relatives of those who lost their lives.
[Map of Iraq. GNU Free Documentation License]