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A suicide attack in the Iraqi province of al-Hilla, south of Iraqi capital Baghdad left at least 60 people dead and 70 others wounded on Sunday. ISIS claimed responsibility.

Iraqi officials reported that the suicide bomber exploded himself in a truck full of explosives in one of the busiest checkpoints in al-Hilla.

The explosion blew out around 1:00 pm local time, when the checkpoint was quite busy with cars.

39 of the people killed were civilians, including women and children, and the rest were security forces.

ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack on the website of Amaq news agency, an ISIS-affiliated agency.

"A martyr's operation with a truck bomb hit the Babylon Ruins checkpoint at the entrance of the city of Hilla, killing and wounding dozens," Reuters quoted the group's statement as saying.

The group's statement also said "the battle has just begun and that the worst is yet to come".

Al-Hilla is the capital of Babylon province. It is not under the control of ISIS and is a dominantly Shiite-populated. It is 117 kilometers away from the capital Baghdad.

"It's the largest bombing in the province to date," Falah al-Radhi, the head of the provincial security committee, told Reuters news agency. "The checkpoint, the nearby police station were destroyed as well as some houses and dozens of cars."

The suicide attack is considered the second deadliest attack in Iraq this year, following an attack on the city of Sadr on February 28 which killed 78 people. The latter was also claimed by the terrorist group ISIS.

Also last month, the terrorist group claimed responsibility for a twin bombing at a busy outdoor market in Eastern Baghdad, which left at least 66 people dead.

United Nations figures show that at least 670 Iraqis were killed last month, two thirds of them civilians.

The roads beyond the checkpoint lead to the Shiite holy cities of Najaf and Karbala which are considered sensitive points. They were considered priorities for the Iraqi government and pro-government forces when they began launching their counter-offensives against ISIS.

Senior Unite Nations official in Iraq condemned the terrorist bombing.

“Once again the terrorists strike with untold savagery, leaving a trail of death and destruction,” said the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Ján Kubiš, in apress release.

Al-Hilla has been a regular target, explains the Middle East Eye. A March 2014 suicide bombing at a checkpoint on the outskirts of the city killed 50 people and wounded more than 150.

The explosion comes in a time when government and pro-government forces are making gains in the Western and Northern provinces in Iraq.

Suicide truck bombs loaded with explosives are increasingly being used by ISIS to hit softer targets and to deliberately cause civilian casualties, and there is fear that such attacks will increase as they lose ground in the rest of the country, explained BBC defense correspondent.

A separate suicide attack took place on Sunday in Khalidiya, near Ramadi, the capital of Iraqi Anbar province. The attack caused the death of several members of the popular Mobilization Forces.