14 dead, 55 injured in Iraq truck bombing

At least fourteen people were killed and 55 others wounded, some of them grievously, when an improvised truck bomb exploded at a livestock market in the Shiite area of Babil (Babylon) Province some 130km south of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad on Thursday, say media reports attributing the information to hospital and police officials.

The bloody explosion in the relatively peaceful province inhabited by a mixed population of majority Shiites and minority Sunnis have left residents shocked, no group has claimed responsibility for the explosion.

Coming 48 hours after armed militants attacked the US military base in the northern city of Mosul – killing a US soldier, the explosion is a grim reminder of the capabilities still possessed by militants operating in the country.

Tribal fights and assassinations are frequent in Babil and could not be ruled out as a possible motive.