Two buses carrying mostly Iranian pilgrims collided on a highway in Iraq today, killing 15 people and injuring dozens, police said.
One of the buses was travelling from the Shi'ite holy city of Najaf towards Samarra to visit the golden domed shrine at the al-Askari mosque, while the other was headed from the city of Hilla, 100 km south of Baghdad, towards Najaf.
"A traffic accident occurred on the Hilla-Najaf highway as a result of one of the buses skidding and hitting the other," said Major General Fadhil al-Sultani, police chief of Babil province.
Television footage showed one of the buses on its side.
Sultani said 11 of the 15 killed and 22 of 45 wounded were Iranian pilgrims. Another police source, who asked not to be identified, said 15 Iranians were among 17 people killed, and 32 of 57 wounded were Iranian.
Religious tourism to Iraq from Shi'ite neighbour Iran has increased since the fall of Saddam Hussein's Sunni-led government as Iranians visit holy sites in Najaf, Samarra and other cities.
Agencies