Death toll rises to 33 in Iraq's suicide attack

Xinhua, February 14, 2011

The death toll from Saturday' s suicide bomb attack against Shiite pilgrims outside the Iraqi city of Samarra in Salahudin province, rose to 33, a provincial police source said on Sunday.

"Our latest report about Saturday's suicide bomb attack on a bus carrying Shiite pilgrims near Samarra, indicates that 33 people were killed and 27 wounded," the local police source said, citing a report from Samarra's General Hospital.

Late on Saturday, the source put the toll at 28 killed and 22 others wounded.

The attack took place in the afternoon when a suicide bomber struck a bus carrying Shiite pilgrims while crossing a checkpoint outside Samarra, some 110 km north of Baghdad, the police said.

Several soldiers and civilians in nearby vehicles at the checkpoint were among the killed and wounded, he said.