Bus-truck collision kills 18 pilgrims, injures 17 in southern Iraq

At least 18 people were killed and 17 injured on Sunday after a passenger bus carrying pilgrims collided with a truck in Iraq's southern Dhi Qar province, security and medical sources said in a preliminary toll.

A security source said the bus was transporting passengers to the holy city of Karbala to visit the Imam Hussein shrine when the collision occurred.

The impact caused the passenger bus to catch fire and burn completely, the source said, adding that search and rescue operations were continuing.

A medical source said charred bodies had been transferred to the forensic medicine department, underscoring the severity of the blaze.

The cause of the crash was not immediately known, and authorities had yet to release further details about the victims or the circumstances surrounding the accident.

Road accidents are common in Iraq, where poor infrastructure, speeding and inadequate enforcement of traffic regulations have contributed to a high number of fatalities.