Eleven people including nine schoolteachers died in a head-on road crash south of Baghdad as they returned from a Ramadan meal, Iraqi authorities said Saturday, blaming speed.

The accident happened in Babylon province around midnight as the group was returning in a minibus from the Shiite holy city of Karbala, a police source said.

Their vehicle collided with a 4x4 travelling in the opposite direction "due to high speed and the driver of the second vehicle's lack of attention", a statement from road traffic authorities said, adding two people were injured.

The police source said the vehicles caught fire.

Conflict, neglect and endemic corruption have left oil-rich Iraq's infrastructure, including roads and bridges, in disrepair.

Many roads are full of potholes and are plunged into total darkness at night.

"The number of traffic accidents doesn't stop rising. It's as if we were at war," said senior road traffic official Tarek Ismail late last month, quoted by state news agency INA.

He blamed a "lack of respect for speed limits", the use of mobile phones and driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol.

Last year, almost 1,000 people died in road accidents in Iraq, a country of around 41 million people, according to a traffic authority official.

(stock image only)

Related Links
Iraq: The first technology war of the 21st century

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

Ericsson says new US fines likely over Iraq corruption
Stockholm (AFP) April 14, 2022
Swedish telecoms equipment giant Ericsson said Thursday it will likely have to pay new fines to the US Department of Justice over suspected bribes to the Islamic State group in Iraq. Chief executive Borje Ekholm conceded in a newspaper interview in February that some of Ericsson employees may have bribed IS members for road transport through areas controlled by the group in Iraq. The admission was made before the publication of a report by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalist ... read more