Image copyright nasiriyah.org Image caption The attack has been claimed by so-called Islamic State

At least 60 people have been killed in two attacks in southern Iraq, police and health officials say.

A suicide bomber detonated a vest and gunmen opened fire inside a restaurant near Nasiriya, capital of Dhiqar province, security sources said.

Soon afterwards, a car bomb exploded at a nearby checkpoint.

So-called Islamic State said it carried out the attacks. Shia Muslim pilgrims including Iranians were killed by the suspected militants.

According to news agency AFP, one report said the attackers were disguised as members of Hashd al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilisation) - a mainly Shia group that has fought alongside Iraqi forces against IS.

The attackers struck at midday local time (09:00 GMT) in stolen army vehicles.

"One attacker blew up his suicide vest inside the crowded restaurant while a group of other gunmen started to throw grenades and fire at diners," said police colonel Ali Abdul Hussain, quoted by Reuters.

At least seven Iranians were among the dead, health officials said, adding that more than 90 people were injured.

Image copyright nasiriyah.org Image caption Some of the injured are in a serious condition

Unconfirmed reports said police officers had died in the checkpoint attack, but the total number of dead from that incident is not known.

Afterwards, rescuers cleared away burned bodies, vehicles and twisted scraps of metal from corrugated shelters.

IS are enduring defeat after defeat on front lines in both Iraq and Syria, but they remain capable of launching devastating assaults on soft targets, says BBC Middle East editor Alan Johnston.

It is still believed to have hundreds of followers prepared to carry out attacks.

However, such attacks are relatively rare in southern Iraq, and Dhiqar province has previously been spared some of the worst of Iraq's violence.

The area targeted is on a main road frequented by Shia pilgrims and visitors from Iran on their way to the holy cities of Najaf and Karbala to the north.</s>At least 50 people have been killed and over 80 more injured in a pair of gun and car bomb attacks in the southern Iraqi city of Nasiriyah, Reuters reports, citing health officials. Iranian media said that among the victims were Iranian pilgrims.

In the first attack, a group of three or four gunmen entered a restaurant off the Dhi Qar highway and began shooting at random, hitting at least fifty people, several media reported.

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Shortly afterward two suicide bombers, including one driving a car rigged with explosives, blew themselves and the car up at a security checkpoint nearby, Iraqi officials told AFP.

The survivors are being treated at the al-Batha and Nasiriyah hospitals, but due to the nature of some of the injuries the death toll is expected to rise, the director of the city's Health Directorate, Jasim al-Khalidi, told Reuters.

Jassem al-Khalidi, a senior health official, told the TV channel that more than 87 people had sustained injuries in the attacks.

The majority of casualties are expected to be Iranian pilgrims, provincial governor Yahya al-Nassiri told AP, who were sat inside the restaurant at the time of the first attack.

Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) has claimed responsibility for the attacks through it’s propaganda wing, the Amaq Agency.

Nasiriyah is the capital of Dhi Qar Governorate, which has a large Shiite population. Shiites and other ethnic and religious minorities have often been targets of Sunni militants in Iraq, including al-Qaeda and Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL).</s>At least 50 people have been killed and over 80 more injured in a pair of gun and car bomb attacks in the southern Iraqi city of Nasiriyah, Reuters reports, citing health officials. Iranian media said that among the victims were Iranian pilgrims.The survivors are being treated at the al-Batha and Nasiriyah hospitals, but due to the nature of some of the injuries the death toll is expected to rise, the director of the city's Health Directorate, Jasim al-Khalidi, told Reuters.Jassem al-Khalidi, a senior health official, told the TV channel that more than 87 people had sustained injuries in the attacks.The majority of casualties are expected to be Iranian pilgrims, provincial governor Yahya al-Nassiri told AP, who were sat inside the restaurant at the time of the first attack.Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) has claimed responsibility for the attacks through it's propaganda wing, the Amaq Agency.Nasiriyah is the capital of Dhi Qar Governorate, which has a large Shiite population. Shiites and other ethnic and religious minorities have often been targets of Sunni militants in Iraq, including al-Qaeda and Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL).</s>At least 50 people have been killed and over 80 more injured in a pair of gun and car bomb attacks in the southern Iraqi city of Nasiriyah, Reuters reports, citing health officials. Iranian media said that among the victims were Iranian pilgrims.

In the first attack, a group of gunmen entered a restaurant off the Dhi Qar highway and began shooting at random, hitting at least 50 people, local media reports.

Shortly afterward two suicide bombers, including one driving a car rigged with explosives, blew themselves and the car up at a security checkpoint nearby, Iraqi officials told AFP.

The survivors being taken to the al-Batha and Nasiriyah hospitals, Press TV reports.

Jassem al-Khalidi, a senior health official, told the TV channel that more than 87 people had sustained injuries in the attacks.

No group has so far claimed responsibility for the attacks. Nasiriyah is the capital of Dhi Qar Governorate, which has a large Shiite population. Shiites and other ethnic and religious minorities have often been targets of Sunni militants in Iraq, including al-Qaeda and Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL).</s>Shooting and car bomb attacks claimed by ISIL kill at least 50 people in southern Thi Qar province.

At least 50 people have been killed and dozens more wounded in twin gun and car bombing attacks near the city of Nasiriyah in southern Iraq, local officials said.

The attacks in the southern province of Thi Qar on Thursday started with unidentified gunmen opening fire inside a restaurant on the main highway that links the capital Baghdad with the southern provinces.

Shortly afterwards, an explosives-laden car targeted a security checkpoint in the same area.

"The toll has now reached 50 dead and 87 wounded," Abdel Hussein al-Jabri, deputy health chief for the mainly-Shia province of Thi Qar of which Nasiriyah is the capital, told AFP news agency.

He warned that the death toll could rise as several of the wounded were in critical condition.

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) claimed responsibility for the suicide attacks, according to the group's Amaq news agency.

Yahya al-Nassiri, provincial governor, told AP news agency that majority of the dead are expected to be Iranian visitors who were inside the restaurant.

Thi Qar is located about 320 kilometers southeast of Baghdad.

The latest attacks follow a series of setbacks that ISIL has faced at the hands of US-backed Iraqi forces.

In July, Iraq retook control of Mosul, a key ISIL stronghold on the north, after a campaign of nearly nine months.

ISIL still controls the town of Hawija in the oil-rich province of Kirkuk and western areas in the country's largest province of Anbar.</s>At least 50 people including Iranians were killed today in twin gun and car bomb attacks near the city of Nasiriyah in southern Iraq, according to a new toll.

"The toll has now reached 50 dead and 87 wounded," Abdel Hussein al-Jabri, deputy health chief for the mainly Shiite province of Dhiqar of which Nasiriyah is the capital, told AFP.

He warned that the death toll could rise as many of the wounded were in serious condition.</s>At least 74 people have been killed and dozens more wounded in two gun-and-car bomb attacks near the city of Nasiriyah in southern Iraq.

The attacks in the southern province of Thi Qar on Thursday started with unidentified assailants opening fire inside a restaurant on the main highway that links the capital Baghdad with the southern provinces.

Shortly afterwards, an explosives-laden car targeted a security checkpoint in the same area.

“There are now 74 deaths and 93 wounded,” said Abdel Hussein al-Jabri, Thi Qar’s deputy health chief.

Thi Qar is located about 320km southeast of Baghdad.

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group claimed responsibility for the suicide attacks, according to the group’s Amaq propaganda website.

Yahya al-Nassiri, provincial governor, told AP news agency the majority of the dead were probably Iranian visitors who were inside the restaurant.

Al Jazeera’s Imran Khan, reporting from the northern city of Erbil, said southern Iraq has been spared much of the violence that the rest of the country has suffered, particularly in the west and north.

The latest attacks follow a series of setbacks that ISIL, also known as ISIS, has faced at the hands of US-backed Iraqi forces.

In July, Iraq retook control of Mosul, a key ISIL stronghold in the north, after a campaign of nearly nine months.

In August, Iraqi forces dislodged ISIL from 70 percent of Tal Afar in northwest Iraq.

ISIL still controls the town of Hawija in the oil-rich province of Kirkuk and western areas in the country’s largest province of Anbar.

“This is a message really from the ISIL group saying that you may have beaten us in Tal Afar and Mosul and surrounded us in Hawija, but we are still able to attack you in places that you wouldn’t expect,” Al Jazeera’s Khan.

“This is a real challenge for the Iraqis – do they move troops to the south or continue their battle up in Hawija?”</s>NASIRIYAH, Iraq: At least 50 people including Iranians were killed Thursday in twin gun and car bomb attacks near the city of Nasiriyah in southern Iraq, local officials said.

"The toll has now reached 50 dead and 87 wounded," Abdel Hussein al-Jabri, deputy health chief for the mainly Shiite province of Dhiqar of which Nasiriyah is the capital, told AFP.

He warned that the death toll could rise as many of the wounded were in serious condition.

The first attack struck close to a restaurant while shortly afterwards a car bomb targeted a security checkpoint in the same area, officials said.

Security sources said the attackers were disguised as members of the Hashed al-Shaabi, paramilitary units which have fought alongside the army and police against the Daesh group to the north of Baghdad.

The area targeted is used by Shiite pilgrims and visitors from neighbouring Iran headed for the holy cities of Najaf and Karbala further north, although Dhiqar has previously been spared the worst of the violence.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but Daesh regularly stages attacks in Iraq, where the jihadist group has lost swathes of territory to US-backed pro-government forces.</s>The toll has now reached 50 dead and 87 wounded, Abdel Hussein al-Jabri, deputy health chief said.

Nasiriyah, (Iraq): At least 50 people including Iranians were killed on Thursday in twin gun and car bomb attacks near the city of Nasiriyah in southern Iraq, according to a new toll.

"The toll has now reached 50 dead and 87 wounded," Abdel Hussein al-Jabri, deputy health chief for the mainly Shiite province of Dhiqar of which Nasiriyah is the capital, told AFP.

He warned that the death toll could rise as many of the wounded were in serious condition.
Several members of ISIL stage multiple attacks on the outskirts of Nasiriyah in the southern Dhi Qar Governorate, killing at least 50 people and injuring 87 others.