A civilian searches for survivors in the rubble at the scene of a car bomb attack near the city of Hilla about 95 kilometers (60 miles) south of Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, Nov. 24, 2016. A car bomb tore... (Associated Press) 
  
 A civilian searches for survivors in the rubble at the scene of a car bomb attack near the city of Hilla about 95 kilometers (60 miles) south of Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, Nov. 24, 2016. A car bomb tore through a gas station on Thursday, killing and wounding scores of people, including 20 Iranians Shiite... (Associated Press) 
  
 BAGHDAD (AP) — The death toll from a car bombing south of Baghdad claimed by the Islamic State group rose to 73 on Friday, including about 40 Iranian pilgrims, Iraqi hospital and police officials said. 
  
 They said 65 other people were wounded in the attack, which took place on Thursday night at a gas station on a major highway near the city of Hilla, about 95 kilometers (60 miles) south of the Iraqi capital. 
  
 Earlier, the officials had put the death toll at 56. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media. 
  
 IS claimed the attack in a brief statement on its Aamaq media arm, saying it was a suicide truck bomb. 
  
 The attack appears to have targeted a bus with Iranian pilgrims heading home after a major Shiite religious observance in the holy city of Karbala. 
  
 Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Hassan Qashqavi was quoted by the semi-official Tasnim news agency on Thursday night as saying that 80 people were killed, including 40 Iranians. Conflicting death tolls are common in the aftermath of large attacks. 
  
 The attack was the deadliest by IS since a massive car bomb killed around 300 people in Baghdad in July. It also came a day after some dozen small-scale bombings in and around Baghdad killed 31 people and wounded more than a 100 — a particularly bloody day even by the standards of the Iraqi capital, which has for more than a decade endured near-daily violence blamed on IS or its forerunner, al-Qaida in Iraq, and which mostly targeted members of Iraq's Shiite majority. 
  
 The gas station bombing underlined the continuing ability of IS to stage high-profile terror attacks even as a massive Iraqi military operation is underway to dislodge its fighters from its last major urban stronghold in Iraq, the northern city of Mosul. The offensive is aided by volunteer militiamen and the U.S.-led coalition, which has mostly been pounding IS targets in Mosul with airstrikes. 
  
 Moreover, Thursday's IS bombing took place in Iraq's Shiite hinterland south of Baghdad, a region that has largely been spared the near-daily violence that has for years engulfed the capital and Sunni regions. 
  
 Earlier this week, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi visited Karbala, where he lavishly praised the country's security forces for protecting the pilgrims against attacks by IS. 
  
 Extremist Sunni militants, including the Islamic State group, view Shiites as heretics and routinely target Iranian pilgrims who visit Iraq by the hundreds of thousands to pay homage to major Shiite shrines in Baghdad, and also the Shiite holy cities of Karbala and Najaf, south of Baghdad, and Samarra, to the north of the capital. 
  
 The Shiite observance in Karbala, called the al-Arbaeen, in which the Iranian victims participated was the 40th day after the death anniversary of a much revered, 7th century religious figure, Imam Hussein, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad. The ceremonies routinely attract hundreds of thousands of pilgrims, including many Iranians who travel overland into Iraq for the occasion. 
  
 The Iraqi government campaign to retake Mosul began last month, but stiff IS resistance and concerns over the safety of civilians who remain inside the city have slowed the Iraqi forces' progress. ||||| BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A suicide truck bomb killed about 100 people, most of them Iranian Shi’ite pilgrims, at a petrol station in the city of Hilla 100 km (62 miles) south of Baghdad on Thursday, police and medical sources said. 
  
 Islamic State, the ultra hard-line Sunni militant group that considers all Shi’ites to be apostates, claimed responsibility the attack in an online statement. 
  
 The group also is fighting off a U.S.-backed offensive on its stronghold Mosul, in northern Iraq, in which Iranian-trained Shi’ite militias are taking part. 
  
 The pilgrims were en route back to Iran from the Iraqi Shi’ite holy city of Kerbala, where they had commemorated Arbaeen, the 40th day of mourning for the killing of Imam Hussein, a grandson of the Prophet Mohammad, in the 7th century AD, the medical sources said. 
  
 The gas station has a restaurant on its premises that is popular with travelers. Five pilgrim buses were set afire by the blast from the explosives-laden truck, a police official said. 
  
 In recent months Islamic State has intensified attacks in areas out of its control in efforts to weaken the offensive launched on Oct. 17 to retake Mosul, the last major Iraqi city under Islamic State control. 
  
 Iran’s Foreign Ministry condemned the attack without giving a casualty toll. Tehran will continue to support Iraq’s “relentless fight against terrorism,” ministry spokesman Bahram Qasemi was quoted as saying by Tasnim news agency. 
  
 Slideshow (6 Images) 
  
 U.S. officials condemned the attack. 
  
 “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,” National Security Council spokesman Ned Price said in a statement. 
  
 The U.S. State Department is in close contact with Iraqi authorities, department spokesman John Kirby said in a statement. ||||| Many of the victims of attack in Hilla, which has been claimed by Islamic State, were Iranian nationals, security official says 
  
 Dozens of people, many of them Iranian Shia pilgrims, have been killed by a suicide bombing claimed by Islamic State near the Iraqi city of Hilla, 60 miles south of Baghdad, in the deadliest single attack on Iranian nationals by the Sunni jihadi group. 
  
 A suicide truck bomb packed with 500 litres of ammonium nitrate exploded on Thursday at a petrol station where several buses carrying Iranian pilgrims on their way back from the city of Kerbala had parked. Hilla is situated between Kerbala and Najaf, two cities home to important religious sites for Shias. 
  
 Reports of the death toll varied, with officials quoted by Reuters saying as many as 100 people had died and others quoted by Associated Press putting the toll at at least 56 people, including 20 Iranians. 
  
 Iran’s semi-official Isna news agency said up to 50 Iranians had been killed in the bombing, which also shattered a nearby restaurant. “The Iranian pilgrims martyred were inside a bus,” a source told Isna. 
  
 Isis, which considers all Shias apostates issued a statement claiming responsibility for the attack. According to the SITE Intelligence Group, the statement said the suicide bomber “blew up his vehicle amidst their assembly, inflicting among them more than 200 killed and wounded, including Iranians”. 
  
 Falah al-Radhi, a security official for the province affected by the attack, said most of the people killed were Iranian nationals. “A large truck exploded among them. It was a suicide attack,” he told AFP. “There are completely charred corpses at the scene.” Scores of wounded people were transferred to hospitals. 
  
 The bombing was seen as a retaliation – albeit on a foreign territory – to Tehran’s anti-Isis campaign. Although Iran is extensively involved in the fight against Isis in both Iraq and Syria, it has remained largely untouched by suicide bombings. Isis attacks such as those in Paris last November or in major cities in the Middle East are unheard of in the Iranian capital. 
  
 In Iraq, however, they are a regular occurrence. In July, a bomb claimed by Isis killed about 300 people, one of the worst atrocities to have hit the country since 2003. 
  
 About 3 million Iranians are believed to have travelled to Iraq this week for the annual Shia commemoration of arbaeen, an important day in the Shia Muslim calendar.. 
  
  
  
 Iran’s foreign ministry condemned the attack, saying that it would not alter Iran’s backing of the Iraqi government against Isis. 
  
 “This heinous and barbarous crime will not change the determination of Iraqi government and people and will not alter the support of the Islamic Republic of Iran for and its solidarity with the oppressed people of Iraq and their fight against terrorism,” said Bahram Ghassemi, Tehran’s foreign ministry spokesman, according to the semi-official Fars news agency. 
  
 Morad Veisi, an Iranian expert on the role of its armed forces, said Thursday’s bombing could be seen as the retaliation for Iran providing the security for arbaeen. 
  
 “The security in Kerbala during arbaeen this year was a show of force by Iran – there was no attack in the city despite millions attending,” Veisi said. “But the attack is also a response to Iran’s role in fighting Isis in other parts of Iraq. Isis fighters particularly hate Iranian Shias.” 
  
 Veisi said Iran’s support had been instrumental in recent years in pushing back Isis on a number of occasions, including stopping fighters from getting closer to Baghdad after Mosul’s fall and more recently in preventing fighters from taking Erbil and helping the army retake Ramadi. 
  
 News of the bombing came as fighting continued in the northern city and Isis stronghold of Mosul, where a US-backed ground offensive by the Iraqi army is inching closer to more besieged parts of the city. As they lose ground in Mosul, the jihadis have intensified their attacks in other parts of Iraq. 
  
  
  
 Facebook Twitter Pinterest Iraqi security forces at the site of the truck bomb attack in Hilla. Photograph: Alaa Al-Marjani/Reuters 
  
 Isis has suffered major blows at the hands of the Iraqi army, supported by Iran-backed Shia militias and Kurdish peshmerga, in the five weeks since the Mosul offensive was launched. 
  
  
  
 “The Iraqi advance on the south and south-east of the city has started to pick up some steam, which we think is a really great development,” John Dorrian, a coalition spokesman was quoted as saying by the AFP, which reported that Iraqi forces were battling against Isis in the neighbourhood ofKhadraa on Thursday. 
  
 Iran’s involvement in the campaign against Isis in Iraq and Syria is carried by the Quds force, an external arm of the elite Iranian Revolutionary Guards led by its commander, Qasem Soleimani, who wields huge influence among Shia militias in both countries. 
  
  
  
 Compared with Iraq, where Iran’s involvement is regarded as helpful by the US secretary of state, John Kerry, its role in Syria is more controversial. Iran has been a staunch ally of Bashar al-Assad’s regime and has been accused of helping him quell opposition. 
  
 Battle for Mosul: Iraq asks for UK help to get thermobaric weapons Read more 
  
 Iran is hoping that US president-elect, Donald Trump, might change his country’s approach on Syria, shifting away from a focus on removing Assad and instead helping the Syrian army in pushing back Isis from Raqqa, the capital of the Isis “caliphate”. Trump has said he is open to warming relations with Russia, which is allied with Tehran, over Syria. 
  
  
  
 Iranian leaders insist their forces in both countries act only as military advisers, invited by their central governments, but the rising death toll in Iran points to a greater involvement. 
  
  
  
 This week, Mohammad-Ali Shahidi Mahallati, head of Iran’s foundation of martyrs, said: “The number of Iran’s martyrs as defenders of shrine has exceeded 1,000”. He was using Iranian terminology for guard forces sent by Iran to Syria. 
  
 Iran has also controversially recruited hundreds of Afghan refugees living in Iran to be sent to Syria. 
  
  |||||

Write a summary.
– ISIS carried out its deadliest attack in Iraq in months Thursday night, killing at least 73 people, including dozens of Iranian pilgrims, in an attack on a gas station on a highway south of Baghdad. At least 65 other people were wounded in the attack, which targeted Shiite pilgrims who had visited the holy city of Karbala, the AP reports. The Guardian and Reuters—which puts the death toll at 100—report that a truck laden with 500 liters of ammonium nitrate exploded at the gas station in the city of Hilla, setting five pilgrim buses alight. In a statement claiming responsibility for the attack, ISIS, which considers all Shiites to be heretics, boasted of killing or wounding 200, including Iranians. The AP notes that ISIS has stepped up attacks around Iraq in an effort to weaken the offensive to retake Mosul. The previous day, at least 31 people were killed in roughly a dozen bombings in Baghdad. The Guardian reports that around 3 million Iranians are in Iraq this week to mark a holy day in the Shiite calendar, and the Thursday night attack was seen as retaliation for Tehran's anti-ISIS stance. Iran's foreign ministry issued a statement denouncing the "heinous and barbarous crime," believed to be ISIS' deadliest attack on Iranian nationals, and vowing that Tehran will continue to support Iraq in its "relentless fight against terrorism." (A US service member assisting anti-ISIS forces in Syria was killed on Thursday.)
En civil man söker efter överlevande i spillrorna på platsen för en bilbombsattack nära staden Hilla cirka 95 kilometer (60 miles) söder om Bagdad, Irak, torsdag 24 nov 2016. En bilbomb slet... (Associated Press) En civil söker efter överlevande i spillrorna på platsen för en bilbomb attack nära staden Hilla cirka 95 kilometer (60 miles) söder om Bagdad, Irak, torsdag, 24 nov 2016. En bil bomb slet igenom en bensinstation på torsdag, döda och sår massor av människor, inklusive 20 iranier shiite... (Associated Press) BAGHAD (AP) — Dödssiffran från en bil bombning söder om Bagdad hävdade av Islamiska staten gruppen steg till 73 på fredagen, inklusive cirka 40 iranska pilgrimer, irakiska sjukhus och poliser sade. De sade att 65 andra människor sårades i attacken, som ägde rum på torsdagskvällen vid en bensinstation på en större motorväg nära staden Hilla, omkring 95 kilometer söder om den irakiska huvudstaden. Tidigare hade ämbetsmännen räknat dödssiffran till 56. Tjänstemännen talade på villkor av anonymitet eftersom de inte hade tillstånd att tala med media. IS hävdade attacken i ett kort uttalande på sin Aamaq media arm, och sade att det var en självmordsbil bomb. Attacken verkar ha riktat in sig på en buss med iranska pilgrimer på väg hem efter en större shiitisk religiös högtid i den heliga staden Karbala. Irans biträdande utrikesminister Hassan Qashqavi citerades av den halvofficiella nyhetsbyrån Tasnim på torsdagskvällen som säger att 80 personer dödades, däribland 40 iranier. Konfliktfulla dödstal är vanliga i efterdyningarna av stora attacker. Attacken var den dödligaste av IS sedan en massiv bilbomb dödade runt 300 personer i Bagdad i juli. Det kom också en dag efter att ett dussin småskaliga bombningar i och omkring Bagdad dödat 31 personer och sårat mer än 100 – en särskilt blodig dag även enligt den irakiska huvudstadens normer, som under mer än ett decennium har uthärdat nästan dagligen våld skyllt på IS eller dess föregångare, al-Qaida i Irak, och som mestadels riktade sig mot medlemmar av Iraks shiitiska majoritet. Bombdådet på bensinstationen underströk IS fortsatta förmåga att iscensätta uppmärksammade terrorattacker även när en massiv irakisk militär operation pågår för att skingra sina stridande från sitt sista stora stadsfäste i Irak, den norra staden Mosul. Offensiven bistås av frivilliga milissoldater och den USA-ledda koalitionen, som mest har dunkat IS-mål i Mosul med flygstrikes. Dessutom ägde torsdagens IS-bombning rum i Iraks shiitiska inland söder om Bagdad, en region som till stor del har skonats från det nästan dagliga våld som i åratal har uppslukat huvudstaden och sunniregionerna. Tidigare i veckan besökte premiärminister Haider al-Abadi Karbala, där han påkostat berömde landets säkerhetsstyrkor för att ha skyddat pilgrimerna mot attacker från IS. Extremistiska sunnitiska militanter, inklusive gruppen Islamiska staten, betraktar shiiter som kättare och riktar rutinmässigt in sig på iranska pilgrimer som besöker Irak med hundratusentals invånare för att hylla större shiitiska helgedomar i Bagdad, och även de shiitiska heliga städerna Karbala och Najaf, söder om Bagdad, och Samarra, norr om huvudstaden. Den shiitiska högtidligheten i Karbala, kallad al-Arbaeen, i vilken de iranska offren deltog var den 40:e dagen efter dödsårsdagen av en mycket vördad, 7th century religiös figur, Imam Hussein, sonson till profeten Muhammed. Ceremonierna lockar rutinmässigt hundratusentals pilgrimer, däribland många iranier som reser över land in i Irak för tillfället. Den irakiska regeringens kampanj för att återta Mosul inleddes förra månaden, men det hårda motståndet från IS och oron över säkerheten för civila som stannar kvar i staden har bromsat de irakiska styrkornas framsteg. BAGHDAD (Reuters) - En självmordsbil bomb dödade omkring 100 människor, de flesta av dem iranska shiitiska pilgrimer, på en bensinstation i staden Hilla 100 km (62 miles) söder om Bagdad på torsdag, polis och medicinska källor sade. Islamiska staten, den ultrahårda sunnimilitanta gruppen som anser att alla shiiter är avfällingar, hävdade ansvaret för attacken i ett uttalande på nätet. Gruppen kämpar också mot en amerikansk understödd offensiv på sitt fäste Mosul, i norra Irak, där iransktränade shiitiska miliser deltar. Pilgrimerna var på väg tillbaka till Iran från den irakiska shiitiska heliga staden Kerbala, där de hade firat minnet av Arbaeen, den 40:e dagen av sorg för dödandet av Imam Hussein, en sonson till profeten Mohammad, på 7th century e Kr, de medicinska källorna sade. Bensinstationen har en restaurang i sina lokaler som är populär bland resenärer. Fem pilgrimsbussar sattes i brand av sprängningen från sprängämneslastbilen, sade en polistjänsteman. Under de senaste månaderna har Islamiska staten intensifierat attacker i områden utanför sin kontroll i ansträngningar att försvaga offensiven som inleddes den 17 oktober för att återta Mosul, den sista stora irakiska staden under Islamiska statens kontroll. Irans utrikesministerium fördömde attacken utan att ge någon dödsoffersiffra. Teheran kommer att fortsätta att stödja Iraks "relenta kamp mot terrorism", Ministeriet talesman Bahram Qasemi citerades som sagt av Tasnim nyhetsbyrå. Bildspel (6 Bilder) Amerikanska tjänstemän fördömde attacken. “Förenta staterna förblir orubbliga i sitt partnerskap med det irakiska folket och regeringen och denna attack bara tjänar till att stärka vår beslutsamhet att besegra ISIL,” National Security Council talesman Ned Price sade i ett uttalande. USA:s utrikesdepartement står i nära kontakt med irakiska myndigheter, departementstalesman John Kirby sade i ett uttalande. Många av offren för attacken i Hilla, som har hävdats av Islamiska staten, var iranska medborgare, säkerhetstjänsteman säger Dussintals människor, många av dem iranska shia pilgrimer, har dödats av en självmordsbombning som påstås av Islamiska staten nära den irakiska staden Hilla, 60 mil söder om Bagdad, i den dödligaste enskilda attacken på iranska medborgare av Sunni jihadi-gruppen. En självmordsbilsbomb packad med 500 liter ammoniumnitrat exploderade på torsdagen på en bensinstation där flera bussar med iranska pilgrimer på väg tillbaka från staden Kerbala hade parkerat. Hilla ligger mellan Kerbala och Najaf, två städer där det finns viktiga religiösa platser för shias. Rapporterna om dödssiffran varierade, där tjänstemän citerades av Reuters och sade att så många som 100 personer hade dött och andra citerade av Associated Press satte ut minst 56 personer, däribland 20 iranier. Irans halvofficiella nyhetsbyrå Isna sade att upp till 50 iranier hade dödats i bombningen, vilket också krossade en närliggande restaurang. “De iranska pilgrimerna martyred var inne i en buss,” en källa berättade Isna. Isis, som anser att alla shiasavfällingar utfärdade ett uttalande där de hävdade att de var ansvariga för attacken. Enligt SITE Intelligence Group, uttalandet sade självmordsbombaren “blef upp hans fordon mitt i deras montering, tillfogar bland dem mer än 200 döda och sårade, inklusive iranier”. Falah al-Radhi, en säkerhetstjänsteman för den provins som drabbades av attacken, sade att de flesta av de människor som dödades var iranska medborgare. – En stor lastbil exploderade bland dem. Det var en självmordsattack,” berättade han för AFP. “Det finns helt förkolnade lik på platsen.” Mängder av sårade människor förflyttades till sjukhus. Bombningen sågs som en vedergällning – om än på ett utländskt territorium – mot Teherans anti-isis-kampanj. Även om Iran är flitigt involverat i kampen mot Isis i både Irak och Syrien har landet i stort sett inte blivit påverkat av självmordsbombningar. Isisattacker som de i Paris i november förra året eller i större städer i Mellanöstern hörs inte i den iranska huvudstaden. I Irak är de dock en regelbunden företeelse. I juli dödade en bomb som Isis påstod omkring 300 personer, en av de värsta grymheterna som drabbat landet sedan 2003. Cirka 3 miljoner iranier tros ha rest till Irak denna vecka för den årliga shiahögtiden av arbaeen, en viktig dag i den shiamuslimska kalendern. Irans utrikesminister fördömde attacken, och sade att det inte skulle förändra Irans stöd av den irakiska regeringen mot Isis. “Detta avskyvärda och barbariska brott kommer inte att ändra beslutsamheten hos irakiska regeringen och människor och kommer inte att ändra stödet från Islamiska republiken Iran för och dess solidaritet med det förtryckta folket i Irak och deras kamp mot terrorism,” sade Bahram Ghassemi, Teherans utrikesminister, enligt den halvofficiella Fars nyhetsbyrå. Morad Veisi, en iransk expert på dess väpnade styrkors roll, sade att torsdagens bombning kunde ses som vedergällningen för Iran som ger säkerhet för arbaeen. “Säkerheten i Kerbala under arbaeen i år var en uppvisning av våld av Iran – det fanns ingen attack i staden trots miljoner närvarande,” Veisi sade. – Men attacken är också ett svar på Irans roll i kampen mot Isis i andra delar av Irak. Isis-kämpar hatar särskilt iranska shias.” Veisi sade att Irans stöd hade varit avgörande under de senaste åren för att driva tillbaka Isis vid ett antal tillfällen, bland annat för att stoppa jaktplan från att komma närmare Bagdad efter Mosuls fall och på senare tid för att förhindra att jaktplan tar Erbil och hjälper armén att återta Ramadi. Nyheten om bombningen kom som striderna fortsatte i norra staden och Isis fäste Mosul, där en USA-backad markoffensiv av den irakiska armén är i intåg närmare mer belägrade delar av staden. När de förlorar mark i Mosul har jihadierna intensifierat sina attacker i andra delar av Irak. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Irakiska säkerhetsstyrkor vid platsen för lastbilsbombattacken i Hilla. Fotografi: Alaa Al-Marjani/Reuters Isis har drabbats av stora slag från den irakiska armén, med stöd av Iranstödda shiamiliser och kurdisk peshmerga, under de fem veckorna sedan Mosuloffensiven inleddes. “Den irakiska framryckningen på den södra och sydöstra delen av staden har börjat hämta upp en del ånga, vilket vi tycker är en riktigt stor utveckling,” John Dorrian, en koalition talesman citerades som säger av AFP, som rapporterade att irakiska styrkor kämpade mot Isis i närheten av Khadraa på torsdag. Irans inblandning i fälttåget mot Isis i Irak och Syrien bärs av Quds-styrkan, en yttre arm av de iranska revolutionsgardisternas elit som leds av dess befälhavare, Qasem Soleimani, som utövar ett enormt inflytande bland shiamiliserna i båda länderna. Jämfört med Irak, där Irans inblandning anses vara till hjälp av USA:s utrikesminister John Kerry, är dess roll i Syrien mer kontroversiell. Iran har varit en trogen bundsförvant till Bashar al-Assads regim och har anklagats för att ha hjälpt honom att kväsa oppositionen. Slaget om Mosul: Irak ber om hjälp från Storbritannien för att få termobariska vapen Läs mer Iran hoppas att USA:s tillträdande president Donald Trump kan ändra sitt lands inställning till Syrien, flytta bort från fokus på att ta bort Assad och istället hjälpa den syriska armén att trycka tillbaka Isis från Raqqa, huvudstaden i Isis “kalifatet”. Trump har sagt att han är öppen för uppvärmning av relationerna med Ryssland, som är allierat med Teheran, över Syrien. Irans ledare insisterar på att deras styrkor i båda länderna endast fungerar som militära rådgivare, inbjudna av sina centralregeringar, men den stigande dödssiffran i Iran pekar på ett större engagemang. Denna vecka sade Mohammad-Ali Shahidi Mahallati, chef för Irans martyrstiftelse: “Antalet av Irans martyrer som försvarare av helgedomen har överstigit 1000”. Han använde iransk terminologi för vaktstyrkor som Iran skickat till Syrien. Iran har också kontroversiellt rekryterat hundratals afghanska flyktingar som bor i Iran för att skickas till Syrien. Skriv en sammanfattning.
A civilian man is searching for survivors in the debris at the site of a car bomb attack near the town of Hilla about 95 kilometres (60 miles) south of Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday 24 Nov 2016. A car bomb ripped... (Associated Press) A civilian is searching for survivors in the debris of the site of a car bomb attack near the town of Hilla about 95 kilometres (60 miles) south of Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, 24 Nov 2016. A car bomb tore through a gas station on Thursday, killing and wounding lots of people, including 20 Iranian Shiite... (Associated Press) BAGHAD (AP) — The death toll from a car bombing south of Baghdad claimed by the Islamic State group rose to 73 on Friday, including about 40 Iranian pilgrims, Iraqi hospitals and police officers said. They said 65 other people were wounded in the attack, which took place on Thursday night at a gas station on a major highway near the city of Hilla, about 95 kilometres south of the Iraqi capital. Previously, officials had counted the death toll to 56. The officials spoke on terms of anonymity because they were not allowed to speak to the media. IS claimed the attack in a brief statement on its Aamaq media arm, saying it was a suicide car bomb. The attack appears to have targeted a bus of Iranian pilgrims heading home after a major Shiite religious festival in the holy city of Karbala. Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Hassan Qashqavi was quoted by the semi-official Tasnim news agency on Thursday night saying 80 people were killed, including 40 Iranians. Conflicting death rates are common in the aftermath of major attacks. The attack was the deadliest of IS since a massive car bomb killed around 300 people in Baghdad in July. It also came a day after a dozen small-scale bombings in and around Baghdad killed 31 people and wounded more than 100 – a particularly bloody day even according to the standards of the Iraqi capital, which for more than a decade have endured almost daily violence blamed on IS or its predecessor, al-Qaeda in Iraq, and which mostly targeted members of the Shiite majority of Iraq. The bombing at the gas station underlined IS' continued ability to stage high-profile terror attacks even when a massive Iraqi military operation is underway to disperse its fighters from its last major city stronghold in Iraq, the northern city of Mosul. The offensive is assisted by volunteer militiamen and the United States-led coalition, which have mostly dunked IS targets in Mosul with air strikes. In addition, Thursday's IS bombing took place in Iraq's Shiite hinterland south of Baghdad, a region that has been largely spared from the almost daily violence that has engulfed the capital and Sunni regions for years. Earlier this week, Prime Minister Haider visited Al-Abadi Karbala, where he lavishly praised the country's security forces for protecting the pilgrims from attacks by IS. Extremist Sunni militants, including the group of Islamic State, view Shiites as heretics and routinely target Iranian pilgrims visiting Iraq with hundreds of thousands of inhabitants to pay homage to major Shiite shrines in Baghdad, and also the Shiite holy cities of Karbala and Najaf, south of Baghdad, and Samarra, north of the capital. The Shiite solemnity in Karbala, called al-Arbaeen, in which the Iranian victims took part was the 40th day after the death anniversary of a very revered, 7th century religious figure, Imam Hussein, grandson of the Prophet Muhammad. The Ceremonies routinely attract hundreds of thousands of pilgrims, including many Iranians who are crossing land into Iraq at the moment. The Iraqi government's campaign to reclaim Mosul began last month, but the fierce resistance of IS and concerns over the security of civilians remaining in the city have slowed the progress of Iraqi forces. BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A suicide car bomb killed about 100 people, most of them Iranian Shiite pilgrims, at a gas station in the city of Hilla 100 km (62 miles) south of Baghdad on Thursday, police and medical sources said. The Islamic State, the ultra-hard Sunni elite group that considers all Shiites to be apostates, claimed responsibility for the attack in an online statement. The group is also fighting an American supported offensive at its stronghold Mosul, in northern Iraq, where Iranian-banged Shiite militias participate. The Pilgrims were returning to Iran from the Iraqi Shiite holy city of Kerbala, where they had commemorated Arbaeen, the 40th day of mourning for the killing of Imam Hussein, a grandson of the prophet Mohammad, in the 7th century AD, the medical sources said. The petrol station has a restaurant in its premises that is popular with travelers. Five pilgrim buses were set on fire by the blast from the explosives truck, said a police official. In recent months, the Islamic State has intensified attacks in areas outside its control in efforts to weaken the offensive launched on 17 October to reclaim Mosul, the last major Iraqi city under Islamic State control. The Iranian Foreign Ministry condemned the attack without giving any death toll. Tehran will continue to support Iraq's "relative fight against terrorism", Ministry spokesman Bahram Qasemi was quoted as saying by Tasnim news agency. Slideshow (6 Photos) American officials condemned the attack. “The United States remains adamant in its partnership with the Iraqi people and government and this attack only serves to strengthen our determination to defeat ISIL,” National Security Council spokesman Ned Price said in a statement. The U.S. State Department is in close contact with Iraqi authorities, Department spokesman John Kirby said in a statement. Many of the victims of the attack in Hilla, which has been claimed by the Islamic State, were Iranian citizens, security officials say Dozens of people, many of them Iranian Shia pilgrims, have been killed by a suicide bombing alleged by the Islamic State near the Iraqi city of Hilla, 600 miles south of Baghdad, in the deadliest individual attack on Iranian citizens of the Sunni jihadi group. A suicide car bomb packed with 500 liters of ammonium nitrate exploded on Thursday at a gas station where several buses of Iranian pilgrims heading back from the town of Kerbala had parked. Hilla is located between Kerbala and Najaf, two cities where there are important religious sites for Shias. Reports of the death toll varied, where officials were quoted by Reuters saying that as many as 100 people had died and others quoted by the Associated Press put out at least 56 people, including 20 Iranians. Iran's semi-official Isna news agency said that up to 50 Iranians had been killed in the bombing, which also crushed a nearby restaurant. “The Iranian pilgrims martyred were inside a bus,” a source told Isna. Isis, who believes that all Shias apostates issued a statement claiming they were responsible for the attack. According to the SITE Intelligence Group, the statement said the suicide bomber “bleeped up his vehicle in the middle of their assembly, inflicting among them more than 200 dead and wounded, including Iranians.” Falah al-Radhi, a security official for the province affected by the attack, said that most of the people killed were Iranian citizens. “A big truck exploded among them. It was a suicide attack,” he told AFP. “There are completely charred corpses on the site.” Lots of wounded people were transferred to hospitals. The bombing was seen as a retaliation – albeit in a foreign territory – against Tehran's anti-isis campaign. Although Iran is extensively involved in the fight against Isis in both Iraq and Syria, it has largely not been affected by suicide bombings. Isis attacks such as those in Paris last November or in major Middle East cities are not heard in the Iranian capital. In Iraq, however, they are a regular phenomenon. In July, a bomb claimed by Isis killed some 300 people, one of the worst atrocities that have hit the country since 2003. Approximately 3 million Iranians are believed to have travelled to Iraq this week for the annual Shia festival of Arbaeen, an important day in the Shia Muslim calendar. Iranian Foreign Minister condemned the attack, saying it would not change Iran's support of the Iraqi government against Isis. “This abominable and barbaric crime will not change the determination of Iraqi government and people and will not change the support of the Islamic Republic of Iran for and its solidarity with the oppressed people of Iraq and their fight against terrorism,” said Bahram Ghassemi, Tehran’s foreign minister, according to the semi-official Father’s news agency. Morad Veisi, an Iranian expert on the role of its armed forces, said Thursday's bombing could be seen as the retaliation for Iran providing security for Arbaeen. “The security of Kerbala during Arbaeen this year was a display of violence by Iran – there was no attack in the city despite millions present,” Veisi said. “But the attack is also a response to Iran’s role in the fight against Isis in other parts of Iraq. Isis fighters particularly hate Iranian Shias.’ Veisi said that Iran’s support had been decisive in recent years to drive Isis back on a number of occasions, including to stop fighters from getting closer to Baghdad after Mosul’s fall and more recently to prevent fighters taking Erbil and helping the army to retake Ramadi. News of the bombing came as the fighting continued in the northern city and Isis stronghold Mosul, where a US-backed ground offensive by the Iraqi army is entering closer to more besieged parts of the city. As they lose ground in Mosul, the jihadians have intensified their attacks in other parts of Iraq. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Iraqi security forces at the site of the truck bomb attack in Hilla. Photograph: Alaa Al-Marjani/Reuters Isis has suffered major blows from the Iraqi Army, with the support of Iran-backed Shiamilis and Kurdish peshmerga, in the five weeks since the start of the Mosul offensive. “The Iraqi advance on the southern and southeastern part of the city has begun to pick up some steam, which we think is a really big development,” John Dorrian, a coalition spokesman was quoted as saying by the AFP, who reported that Iraqi forces were fighting against Isis near Khadraa on Thursday. Iran's involvement in the campaign against Isis in Iraq and Syria is carried by the Quds force, an external arm of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards elite led by its commander, Qasem Soleimani, who exerts an enormous influence among the Shiamilis in both countries. Compared to Iraq, where Iran's involvement is considered to be helpful by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, its role in Syria is more controversial. Iran has been a faithful ally of Bashar al-Assad's regime and has been accused of helping him quell the opposition. Battle for Mosul: Iraq asks for help from the UK to get thermobaric weapons Read more Iran hopes that US incoming President Donald Trump can change his country's attitude to Syria, move away from focus on removing Assad and instead help the Syrian army push Isis back from Raqqa, the capital of the Isis “caliphate”. Trump has said that he is open to warming relations with Russia, which is allied with Tehran, over Syria. Iran's leaders insist that their forces in both countries act only as military advisors, invited by their central governments, but the rising death toll in Iran points to a greater commitment. This week, Mohammad-Ali Shahidi Mahallati, head of the Iranian Martyr's Foundation said: “The number of Iranian martyrs as defenders of the shrine has exceeded 1000”. He used Iranian terminology for guard forces sent by Iran to Syria. Iran has also controversially recruited hundreds of Afghan refugees living in Iran to be sent to Syria. Write a summary.
– ISIS utförde sitt dödligaste angrepp i Irak på flera månader torsdag kväll, och dödade minst 73 personer, däribland dussintals iranska pilgrimer, i ett attentat mot en bensinstation på en motorväg söder om Bagdad. Minst 65 andra personer sårades i anfallet, som riktade sig mot shiitiska pilgrimer som hade besökt den heliga staden Karbala, rapporterar AP. The Guardian och Reuters – vilket sätter dödssiffran till 100 – rapporterar att en lastbil lastad med 500 liter ammoniumnitrat exploderade på bensinstationen i staden Hilla, vilket satte fem pilgrimsbussar i brand. I ett uttalande som tar på sig ansvaret för attacken skröt ISIS, som anser att alla shiiter är kättare, om att döda eller såra 200, inklusive iranier. AP noterar att ISIS har trappat upp attackerna runt Irak i ett försök att försvaga offensiven för att återta Mosul. Dagen innan dödades minst 31 personer i ungefär ett dussin bombattentat i Bagdad. The Guardian rapporterar att runt 3 miljoner iranier är i Irak denna vecka för att markera en helig dag i den shiitiska kalendern, och torsdagsnattens attack sågs som vedergällning för Teherans anti-ISS-ståndpunkt. Irans utrikesministerium utfärdade ett uttalande där man fördömde det "vidriga och barbariska brottet", som tros vara ISIS dödligaste angrepp på iranska medborgare, och lovade att Teheran kommer att fortsätta att stödja Irak i dess "relenta kamp mot terrorism". (En amerikansk tjänstemedlem som bistår anti-ISS-styrkor i Syrien dödades på torsdag.)
– ISIS carried out its deadliest attack in Iraq on several months Thursday night, killing at least 73 people, including dozens of Iranian pilgrims, in an attack on a gas station on a highway south of Baghdad. At least 65 other people were wounded in the attack, which targeted Shiite pilgrims who had visited the holy city of Karbala, reports the AP. The Guardian and Reuters—putting the death toll to 100—report that a truck loaded with 500 liters of ammonium nitrate exploded at the gas station in the city of Hilla, setting five pilgrim buses on fire. In a statement assuming responsibility for the attack, ISIS, who considers all Shiites to be heretics, boasted about killing or wounding 200, including Iranians. The AP notes that ISIS has stepped up the attacks around Iraq in an attempt to weaken the offensive to retake Mosul. The day before, at least 31 people were killed in about a dozen bombings in Baghdad. The Guardian reports that around 3 million Iranians are in Iraq this week to mark a sacred day in the Shiite calendar, and Thursday night's attack was seen as retaliation for Tehran's anti-ISS position. The Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement condemning the "disgusting and barbaric crime", believed to be the ISIS' deadliest attack on Iranian citizens, promising Tehran will continue to support Iraq in its "relative fight against terrorism". (An American service member assisting anti-ISS forces in Syria was killed on Thursday.)