The Islamic State (IS) has claimed responsibility for a suicide attack with an explosive-laden fuel tanker on an Iraqi police checkpoint south of Baghdad, killing at least 60 people and wounding more than 70, medical and security officials said.
“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 militant group said in a statement.
Hilla is the capital of Babylon province, a predominantly Shiite region with some Sunni presence located about 60 miles south of Baghdad.
“It’s the largest bombing in the province to date,” Falah al-Radhi, the head of the provincial security committee, told Reuters. “The checkpoint, the nearby police station were destroyed as well as some houses and dozens of cars.”
A provincial hospital official confirmed the number of casualties. Many had suffered burn injuries.
Sunday’s incident was the latest in a recent wave of deadly bombings across Iraq that has killed more than 100 people.
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