47 killed and dozens injured in IS suicide truck bombing at security checkpoint

Militants drove a truck laden with explosives into a crowded security checkpoint in Iraq on Sunday, killing at least 47 people and wounding dozens more. The suicide attack, said to be the work of the Islamic State group, happened when the lorry was being pulled over as it tried to enter the city of Hilla, 60 miles south of Baghdad. It caused vast destruction around the checkpoint, where cars are usually bumper-to-bumper at that time of day as drivers queue for security checks. Most of those to die were civilians and the rest were security personnel, it was reported.

A martyr’s operation with a truck bomb hit the Babylon Ruins checkpoint at the entrance of the city of Hillah, killing and wounding dozens

Islamic State claims responsibility

The attack has come amidst a renewed spike in violence that has seen 100 killed in Iraq in the last month alone. However, one security official said: “It’s the largest bombing in the province to date… The checkpoint, the nearby police station were destroyed as well as some houses and dozens of cars." A suicide bombing at another checkpoint on the outskirts of Hilla killed 50 people and wounded more than 150 in March 2014.

hilla