TEMPO.CO, Abu Ghraib – At least 60 people have died after suicide bombers and fighters attacked a bus transferring convicts from a prison north of Baghdad.
"At least 60 people, prisoners and policemen, were killed in a suicide attack followed by several IEDs (improvised explosive devices) and shooting," an Interior Ministry official told the AFP news agency.
Al Jazeera reported the attack took place at about 4 in the morning, local time. About 50 prisoners, mostly convicted of terrorism, were among the dead, many of them burnt beyond recognition.
The attack came just hours before Ban Ki-moon, UN secretary-general, was to hold talks with Nouri al-Maliki, Iraqi prime minister, in an effort to boost international mobilization against self-declared armed groups operating in the country.
ANINGTIAS JATMIKA | AL JAZEERA