Death toll hits 80 in Iraq truck bombing

TAZA, Iraq, June 21 (UPI) -- The death toll from a suicide truck bombing in Taza, Iraq, has reached 80, a police official said Sunday.

It was the deadliest single attack in the war-torn nation this year, CNN reported.

The police official said the horrific blast Saturday near a mosque, shops and houses also wounded 211 people and destroyed at least 50 buildings, the U.S. network said.

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki labeled it a "heinous terrorist crime." U.S. Ambassador Christopher Hill and Gen. Ray Odierno, commander of the Multi-National Force in Iraq, issued a statement Sunday, saying they "strongly condemn" the "savage" attack.

"The murder of innocent civilians will only deepen the resolve of the people of Iraq to reject those who offer nothing but violence and hate," the statement said.