11 Iraqis, Including 9 Teachers, Killed in Head-on Crash After Iftar Meal in Karbala

At least 11 people, including nine schoolteachers, were killed in a head-on crash south of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad. The crash on Saturday occurred as the group was returning home in a mini-van from an Iftar meal in the Shiite holy city of Karbala.

The accident occurred due to high speed and “lack of attention” by the driver of the second vehicle, a 4X4 travelling in the opposite direction. Both vehicles caught fire after the crash, a police source told the AFP news service. Nearly 1,000 people died in road accidents in Iraq last year.