Suicide bomber kills nine civilians , including children, in Anbar
Iraqis collect belongings of victims at a suicide bomb site. File Photo
“A suicide attacker wearing suicide belt targeted on Tuesday evening a gathering of children in central Hit town, west of Ramadi,” an officer from Anbar police told AFP.
The death toll of the blast reached nine victims in addition to two injured women, Mohamed al-Mohammadi, chief of Hit local council said on Wednesday.
“Followed by security services, the attacker tried to hide in one of the houses in al-Gara, central Hit. He gathered a group of children on the street and then blew himself up.”
A medical source from Hit Hospital said, “nine bodies including seven siblings who were killed due to the blast, arrived at the hospital.”
“Among the victims, there were six children below the age of six,” the source added.
Violence in the country has surged further with the emergence of Islamic State Sunni extremist militants who proclaimed an “Islamic Caliphate” in Iraq and Syria in 2014.
According to a monthly count released on Thursday by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq, violence and armed conflicts left 824 Iraqis dead and wounded during the month of May.
Nineveh came on top of the most affected governorates with 354 Iraqi civilians were killed and another 470 injured. Baghdad came in second place with 86 victims and 22 injured. Anbar came third with a total of 136 casualties (47 killed and 89 injured)
The total number of victims marked a rise from 317 Iraqis in April. In March, the victims reached 1115, according to UNAMI.