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2nd LD: 12 killed in suicide car bombing in Iraq's Diyala

Xinhua, July 25, 2016 Adjust font size:

Up to 12 people were killed and 25 others wounded on Monday in a suicide car bomb attack in Iraq's eastern province of Diyala, a provincial security official told Xinhua.

The attack took place in the morning when a suicide bomber drove his explosive-laden vehicle into a crowded checkpoint at the eastern entrance of the town of Khalis, west of the provincial capital city of Baquba and some 65 km northeast of Baghdad, the official said on condition of anonymity.

"The latest report said 12 people, including three women and two children, were killed and 25 others wounded by the suicide car bomb attack in Diyala," the official said.

The blast set on fire 13 civilian vehicles nearby and damaged many others, and destroyed part of the checkpoint's building.

Earlier in the day, the official, citing police reports, put the toll at 10 killed and 12 wounded in the Khalis blast.

No group has so far claimed responsibility for the attack, but the Islamic State (IS) militant group turned out to be behind most of similar suicide attacks in the past, targeting areas where crowds of people gather, including markets, cafes and mosques across Iraq.

The attack came a day after another suicide bombing, claimed by the IS, at a crowded checkpoint near Adan Square at the entrance of the Shiite district of Kadhmiyah, leaving 21 people dead and 35 others injured.

Iraq has been hit by a new wave of violence since the IS terrorist group took control of parts of the northern and western regions in June 2014.

In June, according to estimates by the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq, 662 Iraqis were killed and 1,457 others wounded in acts of terrorism, violence and armed conflict across the country.

Many blame the current chronic instability, cycle of violence, and the emergence of extremist groups such as the IS on the U.S., which invaded Iraq in March 2003 under the pretext of seeking to destroy weapons of mass destruction (WMD) in the country.

The U.S. invasion led to the ouster and eventual execution of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, but no WMD was found. Endit