Islamic State claims bombing that killed 70 in Iraq
AFP, HILLAH, Iraq
A suicide bombing claimed by the Islamic State group killed at least
70 people, mainly Shiite pilgrims, south of Baghdad on Thursday, as
Iraqi forces battle to retake Mosul from the extremists.
The blast from the truck bomb ripped through a gas station, where packed buses returning from the Arbaeen commemoration in Karbala, Iraq, were parked, officials said.
Most of the dead were Iranians, the largest contingent of foreigners in the pilgrimage, which is one of the world’s largest religious events and culminated on Monday.
The attack took place near the Babylon Governorate village of Shomali, about 120km southeast of Baghdad.
The Islamic State, which is fighting to defend its Mosul stronghold in northern Iraq, claimed responsibility for the attack.
Babylon security committee head Falah al-Radhi said several buses were targeted.
“A large truck exploded among them. It was a suicide attack,” he told reporters. “There are at least 70 dead, fewer than 10 are Iraqis, the rest are Iranians.”
Videos circulating on social media showed debris scattered over a large area along the main highway linking Baghdad to the main Iraqi southern port city of Basra.
“There are completely charred corpses at the scene,” said Radhi, who added that at least 20 wounded were transferred to nearby hospitals.
As many as 20 million people visited Karbala, home to the mausoleum of Imam Hussein, for Arbaeen this year, about 3 million of whom were Iranians, Iraqi authorities said.
Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Bahram Ghasemi condemned the “brutal and inhumane” attack, Iran’s Islamic Republic News Agency said.
US National Security Council spokesman Ned Price also strongly condemned the attack, saying it was “clearly intended to stoke sectarian tensions.”
“The United States remains steadfast in its partnership with the Iraqi people and government, and this attack only serves to strengthen our resolve in defeating ISIL,” he said, referring to the Islamic State by one of its many acronyms.
Iraq had deployed about 25,000 members of its security forces in and around the shrine city to protect pilgrims from a feared Islamic State attack.
The extremist group, which is losing ground in Mosul, has carried out a series of high-profile diversionary attacks since Iraqi forces launched a huge offensive against their northern stronghold last month.
Elite forces on Thursday battled extremists in eastern Mosul, looking for fresh momentum in their five-week-old offensive to retake Iraq’s second city.
Iraqi Counter-Terrorism Service commander Maan al-Saadi told reporters on the front line in Mosul that his forces were fighting the Islamic State in the neighborhood of al-Khadraa.
“They cannot flee. They have two choices — give up or die,” he said.
Over the past few days, Iraqi forces have cut off the main supply line running from Mosul to the western border with Syria, where the Islamic State still controls the city of al-Raqqah.
The US-led coalition also bombed bridges over the Tigris river that splits Mosul in two, reducing the extremists’ ability to resupply the eastern front.
“It is extraordinarily tough fighting, just brutal, but there is an inevitability to it. The Iraqis are going to beat them,” coalition spokesman Colonel John Dorrian told reporters.
Islamic State fighters moving in an intricate network of tunnels have used snipers, booby traps and a seemingly endless supply of suicide car bombers to stop Iraqi forces.
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2016/11/26/2003660043
*Structure of the Lead：
WHO-the Islamic State group
WHEN-on Thursday
WHAT- not given
WHY- Iraqi forces battle to retake Mosul from the extremists
WHERE- A suicide bombing
HOW-not given
*Keywords：
1. extremist：極端主義者；過激分子
2. blast：爆炸，爆破
3. return from：從(由)...回來
4. contingent：一組
5. pilgrimage：朝聖，朝覲
The blast from the truck bomb ripped through a gas station, where packed buses returning from the Arbaeen commemoration in Karbala, Iraq, were parked, officials said.
Most of the dead were Iranians, the largest contingent of foreigners in the pilgrimage, which is one of the world’s largest religious events and culminated on Monday.
The attack took place near the Babylon Governorate village of Shomali, about 120km southeast of Baghdad.
The Islamic State, which is fighting to defend its Mosul stronghold in northern Iraq, claimed responsibility for the attack.
Babylon security committee head Falah al-Radhi said several buses were targeted.
“A large truck exploded among them. It was a suicide attack,” he told reporters. “There are at least 70 dead, fewer than 10 are Iraqis, the rest are Iranians.”
Videos circulating on social media showed debris scattered over a large area along the main highway linking Baghdad to the main Iraqi southern port city of Basra.
“There are completely charred corpses at the scene,” said Radhi, who added that at least 20 wounded were transferred to nearby hospitals.
As many as 20 million people visited Karbala, home to the mausoleum of Imam Hussein, for Arbaeen this year, about 3 million of whom were Iranians, Iraqi authorities said.
Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Bahram Ghasemi condemned the “brutal and inhumane” attack, Iran’s Islamic Republic News Agency said.
US National Security Council spokesman Ned Price also strongly condemned the attack, saying it was “clearly intended to stoke sectarian tensions.”
“The United States remains steadfast in its partnership with the Iraqi people and government, and this attack only serves to strengthen our resolve in defeating ISIL,” he said, referring to the Islamic State by one of its many acronyms.
Iraq had deployed about 25,000 members of its security forces in and around the shrine city to protect pilgrims from a feared Islamic State attack.
The extremist group, which is losing ground in Mosul, has carried out a series of high-profile diversionary attacks since Iraqi forces launched a huge offensive against their northern stronghold last month.
Elite forces on Thursday battled extremists in eastern Mosul, looking for fresh momentum in their five-week-old offensive to retake Iraq’s second city.
Iraqi Counter-Terrorism Service commander Maan al-Saadi told reporters on the front line in Mosul that his forces were fighting the Islamic State in the neighborhood of al-Khadraa.
“They cannot flee. They have two choices — give up or die,” he said.
Over the past few days, Iraqi forces have cut off the main supply line running from Mosul to the western border with Syria, where the Islamic State still controls the city of al-Raqqah.
The US-led coalition also bombed bridges over the Tigris river that splits Mosul in two, reducing the extremists’ ability to resupply the eastern front.
“It is extraordinarily tough fighting, just brutal, but there is an inevitability to it. The Iraqis are going to beat them,” coalition spokesman Colonel John Dorrian told reporters.
Islamic State fighters moving in an intricate network of tunnels have used snipers, booby traps and a seemingly endless supply of suicide car bombers to stop Iraqi forces.
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2016/11/26/2003660043
*Structure of the Lead：
WHO-the Islamic State group
WHEN-on Thursday
WHAT- not given
WHY- Iraqi forces battle to retake Mosul from the extremists
WHERE- A suicide bombing
HOW-not given
*Keywords：
1. extremist：極端主義者；過激分子
2. blast：爆炸，爆破
3. return from：從(由)...回來
4. contingent：一組
5. pilgrimage：朝聖，朝覲
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