Senior Iraqi cleric Moqtada al-Sadr has accused “the occupier forces” of being behind the recent escalated violence in the war-torn country.

Sadr called the Saturday blast in Taza, south of the northern oil hub of Kirkuk, as a “terrorist attack carried out by the Americans”, Mehr News reported on Thursday.

The Shia leader announced three days of mourning in the country for the death of 80 people killed in the fatal incident and said that “the occupiers” -- a term referring to US-led forces in Iraq -- are causing disorder in Iraq.

On Saturday, at least 80 people were killed and more than 200 others were wounded in a truck bombing in the Turkmen town of Taza Kharmatu, about 30 km (20 miles) south of the northern oil hub of Kirkuk.

The bloody blast also destroyed dozens of homes.

MSH/MMN