IS claims suicide bombings on Iraq-Jordan border

The Islamic State (IS) militant group claimed responsibility for the suicide attacks on positions of Syrian border guards on border with Jordan on Saturday.

In an online statement, the group said that the attacks were carried out by three suicide bombers on a building of the border guards, a main security checkpoint and an army patrol at the government compound of the border crossing point.

Up to 40 security members were killed in the guards' building, while unknown number of casualties occurred in the two other bombings, the statement said.

It identified the bombers as Abu Abdullah al-Baljiki (Belgian), Abu Jaafar al-Senegali (Senegalese) and Abu Bakr al-Faransi (French). However, their nationalities have not been confirmed.

The authenticity of the statement could not be immediately verified.

Earlier, a security source from Anbar province told Xinhua that at least 15 security members were killed and 22 others wounded when three suicide bombers blew up three vehicles packed with explosives at Trebil border crossing with Jordan which is located at a remote area of Anbar province's desert area.

Iraqi aircraft flew over the area to secure the scene from possible further attacks by the IS, which frequently attacked Iraq's border points with the neighboring countries, the source added.

The IS has seized most of Iraq's largest province of Anbar and tried to advance toward the capital Baghdad, but several counter attacks by Iraqi security forces and Shiite militias have pushed them back.

The security situation in Iraq has drastically deteriorated since last June, when bloody clashes broke out between Iraqi security forces and IS militants. Endit