Wave of suicide bomb attacks hit Iraq, as security forces repel 3 IS attacks

A series of suicide car bomb attacks targeting security forces and crowded areas in central and southern Iraq on Monday left a total of 15 killed and some 48 others injured, while the security forces repelled three attacks by Islamic State (IS) militants, including suicide bombings, in the western province of Anbar, security sources said.

The deadliest suicide car bombs occurred in the southern province of Dhi Qar, when a suicide bomber blew up his explosive vest at the restaurant on a main road south of the provincial capital city of Nassriyah, some 375 km south of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, leaving five people killed and 22 others wounded, a provincial police source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

The attacker apparently targeted members of a Shiite paramilitary unit, known as Hashd Shaabi, or Popular Mobilization, who were having breakfast at the time, the source said.

Many civilians were also among the killed and wounded, the source added.

Another attack took place in the oil-hub city of Basra, some 550 km south of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, when a suicide bomber detonated his explosive packed car at a busy intersection in al-Khoura district in downtown the city, killing four people and wounding six others, a local police source told Xinhua.

At least six nearby cars were set ablaze by the powerful blast, the source said.

In Baghdad, a suicide bomber detonated his explosive vest, during the morning rush hour, at a crowded checkpoint near a hospital in Sab'a Abkar district in the northern part of the capital, leaving three people killed and 12 others wounded, a police source said.

Also in the day, at least three members of a government-backed Shiite paramilitary group were killed and eight others wounded, when a suicide bomber rammed his explosive-laden car into a convoy of vehicles carrying members of Imam Ali Brigade and detonated it on a main road in Mesha'hda area, some 30 km north of Baghdad, the source said.

The massive blast destroyed three vehicles of the paramilitary unit, which is part of Hashd Shaabi, or Popular Mobilization, the source added.

No group has so far claimed responsibility for the bombings, but the Islamic State (IS) militant group is believed to be behind most such attacks in the past, which usually targeted crowded areas like markets, cafes and mosques.

In the volatile province of Anbar, the security forces repelled three attacks by IS militants, including suicide car bombings, on military positions in several areas of the country's largest province, according to a provincial security source.

In one of the attacks, dozens of IS militants with four suicide car bombs advanced on the town of al-Baghdadi, some 190 km northwest of Baghdad, but their attack was repelled by the security forces and allied paramilitary Sunni tribal fighters, the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

The troops, who were covered by U.S.-led coalition aircraft, destroyed two car bombs before reaching their targets and killed their suicide bombers, while the two other suicide car bombs detonated near the positions of the security forces, killing 10 security members and wounding 15 others, the source said.

Seven more would-be suicide bombers, wearing explosive vest, were also killed by the troops before reaching the defensive line of the town, the source added.

The security forces repelled another attack by IS militants and two suicide car bombs on military positions in buildings of an abandoned industrial facility at the edge of Abu Ghraib area in west of Baghdad, the source said without giving further details about casualties.

A third attack was carried out by dozens of IS militants with two suicide car bombs on positions of security forces and Hashd Shaabi units near the town of Garma, just east of Fallujah, some 50 km west of Baghdad, but the troops pushed back the attackers after killing seven extremist militants and the two suicide bombers, the source said.

Separately, international warplanes bombarded an IS headquarters in the battleground town of Heet, some 160 km west of Baghdad, leaving eight IS militants killed and 14 others injured, the source said.

Battles continued in the past few days in the IS-held town of Heet as the security forces have been making slow progress in their offensive to drive out IS militants from the town, the source said.

Iraq has been suffering from a wave of violence since the IS terrorist group took control of parts of its northern and western regions in June 2014.

A UN report estimates that more than 22,300 people were killed or injured in armed conflicts in Iraq in 2015 alone.

Source: XINHUA