Twenty-one die as 'petrol bus' explodes after collision

Twenty-one Iraqis were killed when a bus carrying petrol exploded in a fireball after colliding with a car north-east of Baghdad, a hospital official said today.

There were no survivors.

The accident happened late yesterday near Jalula, about 80 miles north-east of the capital, according to Dr Ahmed Fouad from the nearby Baqouba hospital where the dead were taken.

Fouad said petrol cans carried on the bus exploded when the collision occurred, killing the bus driver and 13 passengers plus seven people in the car.