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Isis claims truck bomb in Iraq that kills 80 Shia pilgrims Isis claims truck bomb in Iraq that killed at least 80 Shia pilgrims
(35 minutes later)
An Isis truck bomb at a petrol station where buses filled with Shiite pilgrims were parked has killed at least 80 people. An Isis truck bomb at an Iraqi petrol station where buses filled with Shia pilgrims were parked has killed at least 80 people.
Seven Iranian nationals returning from the Arbaeen ceremony in Karbala were among the victims, Iraqi security officials said on Thursday.  Only ten Iraqi nationals were among the victims, and many were Iranian visitors returning from the Arbaeen ceremony in Karbala, Iraqi security officials said on Thursday, although details on the identities of the dead are still emerging.
There has been an upswing in suicide and car bombs targeting civilians in Iraq since coalition forces began the operation to drive Isis out of the northern city of Mosul last month. There has been an upswing in suicide and car bombs targeting civilians in Iraq since coalition forces began the operation to drive Isis out of the northern city of Mosul last month. 
The violence serves as a stark reminder that the group are capable of inflicting death and destruction even as their hold on territory in Iraq and Syria crumbles. 
Iraqi police had stepped up security around the annual Arbeen commemoration amid fears that Isis would target the estimated 17-20 million Shia visitors who descended on Karbala last week.
The holy city is home to the tomb of Imam Hussein, and is one of the world's largest religous events, with the final stage traditionally involving several days of walking from Basra to Karbala.  
Around 25,000 security forces members were deployed to guard both pilgrims and the shrine itself in the town south of Baghdad, but many have since returned to the frontlines in the six-week-old coalition operation to retake the northern city of Mosul. 
Thursday's commoration passed with fewer violent incidents before and after Arbaeen than in previous years. 
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