Iranians among 74 dead in Iraq attacks claimed by Daesh

Iranians among 74 dead in Iraq attacks claimed by DaeshGunmen and suicide car bombers on Thursday killed at least 74 people, including Iranians, near the southern Iraqi city of Nasiriyah, in an attack claimed by the Daesh group. The attackers struck at midday, opening fire on a restaurant before getting into a car and blowing themselves up at a nearby security checkpoint, officials said. Abdel Hussein Al-Jabri, deputy health chief for the mainly Shiite province of Dhiqar, said at least 74 people had died, including seven Iranians, and another 93 people were wounded. That was up from the previous toll of 52 dead and 91 wounded in what was already the deadliest Daesh attack in Iraq since pro-government forces drove the jihadists out of second city Mosul in July. Security sources said the attackers were disguised as members of the Hashed Al-Shaabi, a mainly Shiite paramilitary alliance which has fought alongside the army and police against IS in northern Iraq. Rescue workers and members of the security forces placed bodies in ambulances and cleared away rubble and the carcasses of burnt-out cars from the site. Burned bodies and vehicles including buses and trucks testified to the violence of the attack. Shelters built of corrugated metal were reduced to scraps of metal, twisted by heat.

Gunmen and suicide car bombers on Thursday killed at least 74 people, including Iranians, near the southern Iraqi city of Nasiriyah, in an attack claimed by the Daesh  group.
The attackers struck at midday, opening fire on a restaurant before getting into a car and blowing themselves up at a nearby security checkpoint, officials said.
Abdel Hussein Al-Jabri, deputy health chief for the mainly Shiite province of Dhiqar, said at least 74 people had died, including seven Iranians, and another 93 people were wounded.
That was up from the previous toll of 52 dead and 91 wounded in what was already the deadliest Daesh attack in Iraq since pro-government forces drove the jihadists out of second city Mosul in July.
Security sources said the attackers were disguised as members of the Hashed Al-Shaabi, a mainly Shiite paramilitary alliance which has fought alongside the army and police against IS in northern Iraq.
Rescue workers and members of the security forces placed bodies in ambulances and cleared away rubble and the carcasses of burnt-out cars from the site.
Burned bodies and vehicles including buses and trucks testified to the violence of the attack. Shelters built of corrugated metal were reduced to scraps of metal, twisted by heat.