Suicide bombing in Iraq claims 12 lives

Bombing comes shortly after another deadly attack in a Shiite neighborhood of Baghdad

By AFP 25 July 2016, 3:07 pm

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Iraqis inspect the damage at the site of a suicide bomb attack at the entrance to the town of Khales, 80 kms northeast of Baghdad, on July 25, 2016. (AFP PHOTO / YOUNIS AL-BAYATI)

A suicide bomber detonated an explosives-rigged vehicle near a crowded checkpoint north of Baghdad on Monday, killing 12 people, security and medical officials said.

The blast at the entrance to the town of Khales also wounded 37, according to Diyala province police spokesman Colonel Ghalib al-Attiyah and health department spokesman Faris al-Azzawi.

Attiyah said the checkpoint was crowded with cars, and that a number of them were burned in the blast.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, but the Islamic State jihadist group carries out frequent suicide bombings in Iraq.

Iraqi security forces stand guard at the site of a suicide bombing on July 24, 2016 near a checkpoint in the Kadhimiyah area, home to a major Shiite shrine, in northern Baghdad. (AFP PHOTO/SABAH ARAR)

The blast came a day after a suicide bombing claimed by IS killed at least 15 people in Baghdad’s Kadhimiyah neighbourhood.

IS overran large areas north and west of Baghdad in 2014, but Iraqi forces have since regained significant ground and are conducting operations to set the stage for the battle to recapture Mosul, the last IS-held city in the country.

The jihadists have responded to the battlefield setbacks by striking civilians, and experts have warned there may be more such attacks as the jihadists continue to lose ground.