BAGHDAD, Dec. 21 (Xinhua) -- At least six people were killed and 10 others injured on Sunday in a massive multi-vehicle collision on a main international highway linking Baghdad to southern provinces in central Iraq, an Iraqi security source said.
The incident occurred in the early morning near Diwaniyah, the capital city of Qadisiyah province, when several cars and heavy trucks crashed into one another due to dense fog, an Iraqi traffic police officer told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.
The massive pileup involved 10 vehicles, prompting civil defense and ambulance teams to rush to the scene for rescue operations, the source said, adding that the accident blocked the highway for several hours.
Heavy fog across Iraq over the past week has led to intermittent flight suspensions at major airports and a rise in fatal road accidents on highways. The Iraqi general traffic directorate issued an urgent alert on Sunday morning, advising drivers to exercise extreme caution on the highways. ■
