Daesh to Pay for Terror Attack in Iraq’s Hilla: Official
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Head of Iran’s Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization Saeed Ohadi condemned the recent terror attack near the Iraqi town of Hilla that led to the deaths of 100 Shiite pilgrims, including dozens of Iranians, and said the Daesh (ISIS or ISIL) terrorist group will pay for it.
Speaking to the Tasnim News Agency, Ohadi decried the terror attack, which was claimed by Daesh terrorists, and said, the “undignified and mean enemy” who has been defeated in the battlefield against resistance forces and has animosity toward the massive rallies held on the occasion of Arbaeen, sought to harm the innocent pilgrims and defenseless people by the attack.
Iranian, Afghan and Iraqi pilgrims were among the victims of the terrorist assault, he said, adding that the Islamic fighters and popular forces in Iraq and Syria will “undoubtedly” take revenge on the Takfiri terrorists and punish them.
He further said that 52 bodies of the Iranian victims of the incident have been returned to the country for identification by the Legal Medicine Organization.
According to reports, at least 100 people, including tens of Iranians, were killed and dozens wounded in the bomb blast at a gas station near the town of Hilla, 100 km (62 miles) south of Baghdad, on Thursday.
Iraq’s Joint Operations Command said the vehicle was packed with 500 liters of ammonium nitrate, a chemical compound used in many explosive devices.