Over 40 persons killed, injured in suicide attack, northern Salahuddin
Suicide attack targets restaurant in Salahuddin province.
“A suicide attack carried out by two suicide attackers targeted a restaurant on the road between Tikrit and Biji,” Biji Mayor Mohamed Mahmoud said in press remarks.
“Security troops killed a third attacker outside the restaurant,” Mahmoud said adding that three persons were killed, while 39 others were wounded.
Similar attacks have been recently witnessed, last of which was an attack against a restaurant in Dhi Qar province, which left dozens of victims.
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.
A monthly count by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI), which excludes security members deaths, said 297 Iraqis, were killed and injured due to violence and armed conflicts during the month of ِAugust. Baghdad was the most affected province with 45 deaths and 135 injuries.
The capital has seen almost daily bombings and armed attacks against security members, paramilitary groups and civilians since the Iraqi government launched a wide-scale campaign to retake IS-occupied areas in 2016. While most of of the explosions and attacks went without a claim of responsibility, Islamic State has claimed several incidents.
Despite the group’s defeat in its main havens across Iraqi provinces, observers believe the group may still constitute a security threat.