Iraq violence: Dozens dead in Hilla truck bombing

At least 47 people died when a fuel tanker blew up at a checkpoint outside the city of Hilla south of Baghdad, Iraqi security officials have said.

Thirty-nine of the dead were civilians, the rest police, one report said. Dozens were injured in the blast.
The attack happened shortly after noon local time (0900 GMT) while dozens of cars were at the checkpoint.
Iraq has seen a rise in violence in the past month, with suicide attacks killing more than 100 people.
Most recent attacks have been carried out by so-called Islamic State, but the group is not thought to hold territory south of Baghdad.

Fifty people were killed and more than 150 injured in a suicide bombing at a checkpoint on the outskirts of Hilla in March 2014. The country is currently in the midst of a very brutal civil war with the Islamic State who are in control of some strategic cities in Iraq including Mosul which they claim is their spiritual home.
#Alabingo with Agency reports.