Suicide bombers attacked a restaurant and a police checkpoint on a highway near the southern Iraqi city of Nassiriya on Thursday, police and medical sources said.
The death toll had risen to 50 people, with more than 80 wounded, a health official and police sources said.
The governor of Iraq’s southern Thi Qar province, where Nassiriya is located, said the death toll was 45.
Al-Nassiri also said the majority of the dead are expected to be Iranian pilgrims who were inside the restaurant. Before the death toll was raised dramatically, hospital officials had said that four Iranian citizens were among those killed.
One attacker detonated his explosive vest inside the restaurant, southwest of Nassiriya, while three to four other attackers opened fire at the people inside, police sources said.
Bomb attacks in southern Iraq, where the bulk of the country’s oil is produced, are relatively rare. No group immediately claimed responsibility, but the attack occurred with Iraqi forces battling to defeat Islamic State militants in areas under their control.
