A man reacts at the site of a suicide truck bomb attack, at a petrol station in the city of Hilla south of Baghdad, Iraq, November 24, 2016. [Photo/Agencies]

The United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), in a statement condemned in the strongest terms the terrorist truck bombing near the city of Hilla in the Babil province, saying that the IS extremist group is seeking to avenge their losses in the IS-held city of Mosul in northern Iraq.

"This cowardly suicide attack is deliberately aimed at exacting maximum casualties among civilians. Many of the victims were pilgrims returning from the Arbaeen commemoration in the City of Karbala," the statement quoted the UN envoy to Iraq and the UNAMI chief Jan Kubis as saying.

The bombing underscores the importance of the ongoing fight against IS militant group in Mosul, the capital of Nineveh province.

"The more Daesh (IS group) feels cornered on the frontlines, the more they may seek to avenge their losses with attacks against unarmed civilians," Kubis said.

Thursday's attack came as the Iraqi forces and allied paramilitary units, known as Hashd Shaabi, are surrounding the city of Mosul to drive out the IS militants from their last major stronghold in Iraq.

The IS terrorist group frequently carried out such suicide attacks against Shiite pilgrims who perform communal rituals in Iraq, in an attempt to provoke sectarian strife in the violence-shattered country.

Terrorist acts, violence and armed conflicts killed 1,792 Iraqis and wounded 1,358 others in October across Iraq, the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq said.

Many blame the current chronic instability, cycle of violence, and the emergence of extremist groups, such as the Islamic States, on the US, which invaded and occupied Iraq in March 2003.