Death Toll in Iraq Bombing Claimed by ISIS Rises to 73

Death Toll in Iraq Bombing Claimed by ISIS Rises to 73
A civilian searches for survivors in the rubble at the scene of a car bomb attack near the city of Hilla on Nov. 24, 2016. AP Photo/Hadi Mizban
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BAGHDAD—The death toll from a car bombing south of Baghdad claimed by the ISIS terrorist group rose to 73 on Friday, including about 40 Iranian pilgrims, Iraqi hospital and police officials said, the deadliest ISIS attack in four months.

The officials said 65 other people were wounded in the attack, which took place on Thursday night at a gas station on a major highway near the city of Hilla, about 95 kilometers (60 miles) south of the Iraqi capital.

ISIS claimed the attack in a brief statement on its Aamaq media arm, saying it was a suicide truck bomb. Earlier, Iraqi officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media, had put the death toll at 56.

The attack appears to have targeted a bus with Iranian pilgrims heading home after a major Shiite religious observance in the holy city of Karbala.

Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Hassan Qashqavi was quoted by the semi-official Tasnim news agency on Thursday night as saying that 80 people were killed, including 40 Iranians. Conflicting death tolls are common in the aftermath of large attacks.

Iranian civil defense personnel search for survivors in the rubble, at the scene of a car bomb attack near the city of Hilla on Nov. 24, 2016. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)
Iranian civil defense personnel search for survivors in the rubble, at the scene of a car bomb attack near the city of Hilla on Nov. 24, 2016. AP Photo/Hadi Mizban