13 killed in traffic accident south of Baghdad

Up to 13 people, including nine school teachers, were killed and four others wounded in a car crash south of the Iraqi capital Baghdad, Iraqi authorities and a source said on Saturday.

Iraqi Interior Ministry's traffic directorate said in a statement that a 4-wheel drive vehicle and a minibus collided as a result of inattentive driving and speeding in the north of Babil's province capital Hilla, some 110 km south of Baghdad.

An earlier statement by the directorate said that the accident took place around midnight.

A local security source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity that nine schools teachers were among the dead while they were returning in a minibus from Karbala to Baghdad.

Traffic accidents in Iraq are a major cause of death and injury in the country either due to poor condition of the roads or due to drivers' violation of traffic regulations. (ANI/Xinhua)

( With inputs from ANI )

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