IRNA – Iran's Chief Counsel in Karbala Masoud Hosseinian said on Friday that some 71 Iranian pilgrims who attained martyrdom in the terrorist attack in Iraq will be sent to Iran.


The bodies, 59 of which have been totally burnt, will go through DNA tests for identification.

Speaking to IRNA, Hosseinian said the bodies are now being transferred to Najaf airport after the completion of the official documentation.

A truck bomb went off in the Shoumeli village, 120 kilometers southeast of Baghdad, targeting vehicles loaded with passengers most of them Iranians who were returning home from the holy shrines in Iraq after Arba'een rituals.

Reports so far put the number of the dead at more than 71 with a lot more injured.