Grand Ayatollah Sistani: Hilla terrorists to pay for carnage

Iraq’s top cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani has condemned a recent deadly terrorist attack targeting pilgrims near the Iraqi city of Hillah, saying the perpetrators of the carnage will pay for their crimes on the battleground.

Ayatollah Ahmad al-Safi, the religious leader’s representative, cited him as making the remarks on Friday, a day after the attack.

The terrorist assault involved a truck bomb that exploded at a gas station in the Shomali Village in the suburbs of al-Hillah, killing at least 73 people, including many Iranians.

The incident occurred as pilgrims were returning from Karbala, where they marked Arba’een, the 40th day to follow the anniversary of the martyrdom of Imam Hussein (PBUH), the third Shia Imam.

The Daesh terrorist group claimed responsibility for the attack.

Daesh has been ravaging parts of Iraq in a large-scale terrorist offensive. Iraqi military and volunteer forces are engaged in battles with the terrorist group.

Grand Ayatollah Sistani said the terrorists, who had failed to target the pilgrims during the Arba’een rituals in Karbala, sought to attack them at a gas station outside of the holy city.

“This act of terror will increase the number of those loving Imam Hussein, and those who committed it will meet their comeuppance on battlegrounds,” he said.

Iraqi security forces had established tight security on the main paths to Karbala and in the city itself during the rituals.

Safi, meanwhile, expressed his appreciation of the Iraqi people’s efforts to help create the safest circumstances possible around the rituals.

Iran’s counselor in Karbala, Massoud Hosseini, has said that 28 Iranian identification cards had been found at the site of the explosion. He announced that 71 bags of human remains were being transferred to Iran for DNA testing in order to identify the victims.

Also on Friday, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani condemned the attack as “desperate” and said Iran was determined to continue its “all-out fight” against terrorism.