(Xinhua)
Updated: 2007-12-24 20:04

BAGHDAD -- A train heading to Baghdad collided with a car at a level-crossing in the Babel province, south of Baghdad, killing 12 civilians, a provincial police source confirmed on Monday.

"A car carrying 12 family members collided on Sunday afternoon with a train coming from the southern city of Basra to Baghdad at the level-crossing of Hindiyah area near the Hilla City, 100 km south of Baghdad," the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

All the family members were killed by the crash and were transported to Hilla hospital, he said.

Earlier, reports reaching here from the central Iraqi city of Hilla said that 13 people were killed in a train-car collision at a level crossing near Hilla on Sunday.

The incident took place on Sunday in Al-Sayahiyah north of the city of Hilla, killing 11 children, including six boys and five girls, and two others, said the reports.

On December 16, the long-stalled train service to the capital was resumed for the first time since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003, as Iraqi officials said the resumption of the service came due to the improvement of security situation in the country.