13 killed in traffic accident south of Baghdad

Baghdad, April 17 Up to 13 people, including nine school teachers, were killed and four others wounded in a car crash south of the Iraqi capital Baghdad, Iraqi authorities and a source have said.

Iraqi Interior Ministry's Traffic Directorate said on Saturday in a statement that a 4-wheel drive vehicle and a minibus collided as a result of inattentive driving and speeding in the north of Babil's province capital Hilla, nearly 110-km south of Baghdad.

An earlier statement by the Directorate said the accident took place around Saturday midnight, Xinhua news agency reported.

A local security source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity that nine schools teachers were among the dead while they were returning in a minibus from Karbala to Baghdad.

Traffic accidents in Iraq are a major cause of death and injury in the country either due to poor condition of the roads or due to drivers' violation of traffic regulations.