Alwaght- Death toll from Thursday’s coordinated attack in Iraq’s Dhi Qar province has reached 84 with ISIS Takfiri group claiming responsibility.
The midday deadly attacks also left more than 90 injured at a roadside restaurant and checkpoint in the southern part of the province near the city of Nasiriyah.
Dhi Qar is north of the city of Basra and about 200 miles (320km) southeast of Baghdad.
The terrorists began by opening fire at the checkpoint and the restaurant on the main road that links the capital Baghdad with Iraq's southern provinces.
That was followed by blasts caused by two suicide bombers, including one driving a car full of explosives, Dhi Qar governor Yahya al Nassiri said.
The dead, who were taken to hospital in Nasiriyah, included 10 Iranians, according to Abdel Hussein al Jabri, deputy health chief for Dhi Qar.
Local officials say the death toll could rise due to the critical condition of some of the wounded.
The area targeted is often used by Shiite pilgrims and visitors from Iran on their way to the holy cities of Najaf and Karbala further north.
The attacks by ISIS come as the group is set to be completely ousted from all the territories it had occupied in Iraq following intensive operations by Iraqi army soldiers and pro-government fighters from the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), commonly known by the Arabic name Hashd al-Shaabi.
According to the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), a total of 125 Iraqi civilians lost their lives, and 188 others were injured as a result of terrorist attacks and other acts of violence across Iraq in August.
The UN mission, however, did not mention the number of Iraqi police forces, who were killed or sustained injuries during last month’s acts of violence.
A large number of the fatalities were recorded in the capital province of Baghdad, where 45 civilians were killed and 135 others wounded during the same period.
