Iraq: Death toll in ISIL twin attacks up to 83

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A total of 83 people were killed and 93 injured, including several Iranians, in twin attacks on Thursday in the southern Iraqi city of Nasiriyah that have been claimed by the ISIL terror group, Xinhua News Agency reported.

"The final casualties from the car bombing and gunfire attacks in Fadak area Dhi Qar province rose to 83 killed and 93 wounded, and many of them are in critical condition," the head of the provincial health department Jasim al-Khaledi told Xinhua.

The initial death toll from the attacks had stood at around 50. Among the dead were seven Iranians, AFP news agency said.

Iraqi security forces and civilians carry the body of a victim of an attack after gunmen and suicide car bombers killed over 50 people in an assault claimed by ISIL near the southern Iraqi city of Nasiriyah on September 14, 2017. /AFP Photo

Around midday on Thursday, gunmen opened fire at a restaurant in the western part of Nasiriyah, before getting into a car and blowing themselves up at a security checkpoint, AFP reported, citing officials.

A local security operations command, quoted by Xinhua, meanwhile said Iraqi security forces shot dead four of the attackers at the scene.

ISIL quickly claimed responsibility for the violent attack, which also left charred buses and trucks in its wake.

AFP reported that the restaurant and security checkpoint were located near a highway used by Shiite pilgrims and Iranian visitors to travel to the holy cities of Najaf and Karbala.

The attackers had disguised themselves as members of the Hashed al-Shaabi, a mainly Shiite paramilitary alliance which has fought against ISIL in northern Iraq, security sources cited by AFP said.

This was the deadliest attack by ISIL since the group lost Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city.

ISIL has been losing ground to US-backed pro-government forces lately. In late August, Iraqi forces recaptured the city of Tal Afar and the surrounding region from the extremist group.

Source(s): AFP ,Xinhua News Agency