2nd LD: 80 killed in suicide tanker blast in Iraq's Babil

Up to 80 people were killed and some 31 others wounded on Thursday in a suicide tanker truck bomb attack at a fuel station in Babil province in south of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, a security official said.

The attack occurred in the afternoon when a suicide bomber detonated his explosive-laden tanker truck at a fuel station in the town of Shomali in east of the provincial capital city of Hillah, some 100 km south of Baghdad, the Iraqi NINA news agency quoted Falah al-Khafaji the head of the security committee of Babil's provincial council as saying.

The massive blast destroyed a bus carrying Shiite pilgrims and many nearby vehicles at the busy fuel station, the agency said, adding that many of the casualty were Iranian and Pakistani nationals.

The pilgrims were returning home after observing a major ritual of Arbaeen in the Shiite holy city of Karbala, as the Shiite Muslims use to commemorate the death of Imam Hussein, one of the Shiites' twelve most revered Imams, who was killed in 680 A.D. and buried in Karbala, some 110 km south of Baghdad.

The Shiite Muslims had already observed the death day of Imam Hussein on Oct. 12, in a ritual named Ashura Day, but they usually continue their mourning till the ritual of al-Arbaeen, or 40 days after the Imam's death which took place on Nov. 21.

Earlier in the day, a police source put the toll at 10 killed and more than 15 others wounded by the massive bombing.

The Islamic State (IS) militant group, in most cases, is responsible for such suicide deadly attacks against Shiite Muslims and crowded areas, including markets, cafes and mosques across Iraq.

Terrorist acts, violence and armed conflicts killed 1,792 Iraqis and wounded 1,358 others in October across Iraq, the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq said.

Many blame the current chronic instability, cycle of violence, and the emergence of extremist groups, such as the Islamic States, on the U.S., which invaded and occupied Iraq in March 2003. Endit