A scene from the fatal traffic collision between a passenger bus and a fuel tanker in Dhi Qar, June 7, 2026.
At least 18 killed as bus and fuel tanker collide in Dhi Qar
DHI QAR — At least 18 people were killed and 17 others injured when a passenger bus collided with a fuel tanker on Iraq’s international highway near Fahd Bridge in al-Batha district, west of Dhi Qar governorate, on Sunday, a security source told 964media.
The bus, which was carrying passengers from Basra, overturned and caught fire following the collision. Bodies were transferred to the forensic medicine department while the injured were taken to nearby hospitals. Authorities have opened an investigation into the cause of the crash. Casualty figures are preliminary and may be updated.
The crash comes two days after three Defense Ministry personnel were killed in a collision on the Baghdad-Kirkuk highway. Iraq recorded 2,103 fatal crashes killing 2,719 people in 2024, a 10 percent decline from 3,019 deaths the previous year, according to Ministry of Planning figures covering governorates outside the Kurdistan Region. Men accounted for 82 percent of fatalities. Authorities cite speeding, poor infrastructure, distracted driving and weak enforcement as the main causes of deadly accidents.