Terror attacks leave 83 dead in Iraq

Eighty-three people have been killed 93 are wounded after a terror attack on a restaurant and a security checkpoint in southern Iraq.

Eighty-three people have been killed and 93 are wounded in terror attacks targeting a Shiite-majority area in southern Iraq.

The health director for Dhi Qar province, Jasem al-Khalidi, said the number of fatalities from the co-ordinated attacks on Thursday on a restaurant and a security checkpoint climbed from 50 to 83 in a matter of hours.

Iranian citizens were among the dead following the attacks in the provincial capital of Nasiriyah, a source in the Iraqi security services said.

The source was unable to say whether the Iranians were pilgrims visiting the many Shiite shrines in the province.

Iraqi broadcaster Al Sumaria reported that armed men in military uniforms entered the restaurant and began shooting patrons. The assailants then drove to a security checkpoint, where they detonated a car bomb and opened fire on members of the security forces.

Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attacks, which came a day after Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi visited Dhi Qar, an area normally characterised by security and stability.