The Arab League said in a statement issued on Monday that it strongly condemns the deadly attack committed in Iraq's Hilla city and called for measures to be taken to avoid further bloodshed.

"The Arab League has its deep concerns about the attack and condemns it in the strongest term," the pan-Arab organization said in the statement.

"The Arab League reiterates its objection to any terror attacks against innocent civilians," it added. "The organization believes all kinds of effective measures should be taken to prevent such attacks from being carried out in the future."

Earlier on Monday, a suicide bomber detonated a powerful car bomb in Hilla, some 100 km south of Baghdad, killing at least 125 people and wounding 130 others.

(Xinhua News Agency March 1, 2005)