UPDATED: Death toll from Tikrit car bomb blast rises to three
Representational photo
Tikrit (IraqiNews.com) – The death toll from a car bomb blast in Tirkit city, Salahuddin, rose to three, while 10 others were injured, a security source told Iraqi news agency (NINA).
Earlier in the day, security forces monitored a booby-trapped pickup truck driven by a suicide bomber during a security campaign in Tirkit.
The suicide bomber blew himself up before the police could catch him.
The casualties are expected to rise.
Violence in the country has surged further with the emergence of Islamic State extremist militants who proclaimed an “Islamic Caliphate” in Iraq and Syria in 2014.
The surge in violence between armed groups and government forces has resulted in over five million internally displaced persons across Iraq and left more than 11 million in need of humanitarian assistance, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
A total of 32 Iraqi civilians were killed and another 32 injured in acts of terrorism and conflict-related violence in December 2018, the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI).
Nineveh was the worst affected governorate with 26 civilian casualties (07 killed, 19 injured) followed by Baghdad (17 killed and 03 injured) and Salahuddin (03 killed and 03 injured).