Suicide bombers in ambulances in Iraq
They appeared to be part of a series of diversionary attacks by the ultra-hardline Sunni extremists
PHOTO: Reuters
TIKRIT:
Suicide bombers driving ambulances packed with explosives detonated their vehicles at a checkpoint and a car park for Shia pilgrims in two Iraqi cities on Sunday, killing at least 21 people and wounding dozens, officials said.
The twin attacks took place in Tikrit and Samarra, as Iraqi troops and security forces battled to retake the northern city of Mosul from Islamic State militants who have controlled it for more than two years.
Eighteen killed in Islamic State attack north of Iraq's Tikrit
They appeared to be part of a series of diversionary attacks by the ultra-hardline Sunni extremists, who have struck the Kurdish-controlled city of Kirkuk, the capital Baghdad and a western desert town during the three-week Mosul campaign.
In Tikrit, a bomber detonated his explosives-laden ambulance at the southern entrance to the city during the morning rush hour, killing 13 people, police and hospital sources said.
Another attacker detonated a vehicle in a car park for pilgrims visiting one of Shia Islam's holiest shrines, al-Askari mosque in Samarra, south of Tikrit.
US paid half a billion dollars to produce fake terrorism videos in Iraq
The bomb killed at least eight people, local officials said, including two Iranian pilgrims. The local operation command, a joint military and police unit, said the vehicle used in Samarra was also an ambulance.Authorities in both cities declared curfews, fearing possible further attacks.
Iraqi troops and security forces, backed by a US-led international coalition, are battling Islamic State in the northern city of Mosul. Special forces have entered eastern districts, where they faced fierce resistance from the militants who deployed car bombs, snipers and mortar fire against them.
Suicide bombers driving ambulances packed with explosives detonated their vehicles at a checkpoint and a car park for Shia pilgrims in two Iraqi cities on Sunday, killing at least 21 people and wounding dozens, officials said.
The twin attacks took place in Tikrit and Samarra, as Iraqi troops and security forces battled to retake the northern city of Mosul from Islamic State militants who have controlled it for more than two years.
Eighteen killed in Islamic State attack north of Iraq's Tikrit
They appeared to be part of a series of diversionary attacks by the ultra-hardline Sunni extremists, who have struck the Kurdish-controlled city of Kirkuk, the capital Baghdad and a western desert town during the three-week Mosul campaign.
In Tikrit, a bomber detonated his explosives-laden ambulance at the southern entrance to the city during the morning rush hour, killing 13 people, police and hospital sources said.
Another attacker detonated a vehicle in a car park for pilgrims visiting one of Shia Islam's holiest shrines, al-Askari mosque in Samarra, south of Tikrit.
US paid half a billion dollars to produce fake terrorism videos in Iraq
The bomb killed at least eight people, local officials said, including two Iranian pilgrims. The local operation command, a joint military and police unit, said the vehicle used in Samarra was also an ambulance.Authorities in both cities declared curfews, fearing possible further attacks.
Iraqi troops and security forces, backed by a US-led international coalition, are battling Islamic State in the northern city of Mosul. Special forces have entered eastern districts, where they faced fierce resistance from the militants who deployed car bombs, snipers and mortar fire against them.