7 killed in car accident in central Iraq

BAGHDAD, March 9 (Xinhua) -- Seven people were killed Saturday in a car accident in Babil province south of the Iraqi capital Baghdad, the traffic police said.

Brigadier Zahir Mohammed, director of the media office of traffic police of the province, said in a statement that the accident took place in the morning in the Mahawil area in Babil province.

The accident occurred when the driver of a car heading from Baghdad to Babil lost control of his car and collided with another car on the other side of the highway, the statement said.

"The two cars were destroyed and seven people in both cars died in the accident," it added.

Earlier, the Iraqi High Commission for Human Rights said that more than 7,000 traffic accidents occurred in 2023, mainly due to old and unqualified roads, the lack of sufficient traffic signals and safety barriers, as well as negligence of traffic rules.