Baghdad Car Bomb: Iran, Iraq Denounce Daesh Attack on Arbaeen Pilgrims

Local Editor

A suicide bomber detonated his car bomb at a gas station in al-Hilla city, 100 km [60 miles] south of Baghdad on Thursday, claiming the lives of at least 100 civilians, police and medical sources said.

According to security sources, a truck loaded with explosives went off on Thursday at a gas station in the Shomali village in the suburbs of the city of al-Hilla, located 100 kilometers south of Baghdad.

The Takfiri Daesh [Arabic acronym for "ISIS" / "ISIL"] terrorist group claimed responsibility for the deadly bombing.

Hours after the incident, Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman strongly condemned the fatal terrorist blast, expressing sympathy with the Iraqi government and nation as well as all the families of the victims.

Touching on reports that Iranian citizens were among the victims, Bahram Qassemi said, "The Foreign Ministry and the Islamic Republic of Iran's Embassy in Baghdad are investigating the issue with seriousness" and will take necessary measures in that regard.

The Iranian official also stressed that such pre-planned and savage assaults emanate from the desperation of the terrorists, who are taking successive blows on the battlefield.

"These brutal and inhumane acts will not affect the Iraqi government and nation's determination and the Islamic Republic of Iran's support for the oppressed Iraqi people in the unrelenting fight against terrorism," Qassemi said.

In a related platform, Iraq's President Fuad Masum strongly condemned the terrorist attack in Hilla, emphasizing that such terrorist crimes would not go unpunished.

Issuing an official statement hours after the terrorist attack, which was claimed by the Daesh Takfiri group, Masum emphasized that terrorists, who target the lives of innocent pilgrims traveling to Iraq from Islamic countries, will be brought to justice.

He also called on Iraq's security forces to double their efforts and take necessary measures to uproot terrorist groups that endanger the life and safety of the pilgrims visiting Iraq's holy shrines.

The incident occurred at a time when buses packed with Shia pilgrims were parked at the gas station. The people were returning from Arbaeen mourning rituals in the holy city of Karbala.

At least seven buses with pilgrims were inside the petrol station at the time," an unnamed police lieutenant colonel told AFP.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team