The self-proclaimed Islamic State has claimed responsibility for a suicide bomb attack at a crowded checkpoint south of the Iraqi capital Baghdad that left at least 60 people dead.
Officials say the attack took place in the city of Hilla and has left more than 70 others injured.
Iraqi officials say the latest attack happened while dozens of cars were waiting to clear a checkpoint in Hilla.
Hilla is the capital of Babylon province, a predominantly Shi'ite region.
IS claimed responsibility for the bombing in a posting on the website of the Amaq news agency, which supports the Sunni-based group.
The head of Hilla's security committee has denounced the attack.
(Translated) "The blast has completely destroyed the checkpoint and its buildings. More than a hundred cars have been damaged. We and the residents strongly condemn the attack."
Iraqi authorities say it is the largest bombing in the province to date.
And it is the third blast in and around Baghdad in just over a week.
BBC journalist Jonathan Beale is in the Iraqi capital and says there has been a notable increase in IS bombings.
"This is not an area where Islamic State holds ground. This is a Shia area to the south, and most of the fighting is to the north and the west of Baghdad. But what we think is going on here, and what security officials in Iraq and the coalition fears, is that, as IS feels the pressure from the Iraqi security forces and the coalition air strikes, that they will go for softer targets and, particularly, they will go for areas where there are large Shia populations, trying to deliberately kill civilians."
Iraqi political analyst Raed Jarrar says he believes it is also a sign of weakness within the Iraqi security forces.
"Iraq's security forces have been unable to protect the country, although the United States, and Iraq and other allies now, including Iran, have spent billions of dollars trying to build these forces. Many Iraqi analysts and politicians have been trying to point out the fact that these forces don't need more training. It's not a crisis of training, but it is a crisis of legitimacy, because many Iraqis view Iraq's security forces as nothing more than yet another armed militia in the country which is as sectarian and destructive as other militias."
Iraqi government soldiers, with the help of coalition fighter jets, are trying to advance towards areas controlled by IS fighters around the town of Ramadi.
But IS has carried out a number of assaults against Iraqi security forces in recent days as that pressure mounts.
In the past week, a double bombing at a market in Baghdad's Sadr City killed more than 70 people.
The following day, a suicide attack at a funeral north of Baghdad killed about 30.
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