2 soldiers killed in suicide bomb attack near Baghdad

At least two soldiers were killed and eight others wounded Wednesday in a suicide bomb attack at a military base in a town south of the Iraqi capital Baghdad, a police source said.

A suicide bomber detonated his explosive vest at the entrance of an army base at the town of Latifiyah, some 40 km south of Baghdad, the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

The predominantly Sunni town of Latifiyah is part of the sectarianly mixed province of Babil in central Iraq. It is one of a cluster of Sunni towns scattered north of Babil's provincial capital city of Hilla, about 100 km south of Baghdad.

The northern part of Babil province has been a hotbed of Sunni insurgency against U.S. troops and the Shiite-led government.

Iraq has witnessed intense violence since the Islamic State (IS) took control of parts of its northern and western regions in June 2014.

A report by the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq estimated that 759 Iraqis were killed and 1,207 others wounded in acts of terrorism, violence and armed conflict in July across Iraq.

Many blame the current chronic instability, cycle of violence, and the emergence of extremist groups, such as the IS, on the U.S. that invaded and occupied Iraq in March 2003. Endit