Suicide bombings kill 9 in Iraq’s Fallujah

By Suleiman al-Qubeisi

ANBAR, Iraq

Nine people were killed and 26 others injured late Monday in two suicide bombings claimed by Daesh group in Iraq’s western city of Fallujah.

A bomber drove his explosive-laden car into a security checkpoint and detonated it at the entrance of Nazal district in central Fallujah, some 50 km west of Baghdad.

Another bomber blew up his explosive vest at a police headquarters in central Fallujah.

“Five military personnel and four civilians were killed in the attacks,” medic Ahmed Jassim told Anadolu Agency.

He said another 10 military personnel and 16 civilians were injured in the bombings.

Daesh terrorist group swiftly claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement circulated on social media.

Monday’s attack came shortly after seven people were killed in a suicide bombing in the holy Shia city of Karbala in southern Iraq.

Iraq has suffered a devastating security vacuum since mid-2014, when Daesh captured the northern city of Mosul – now the subject of a large offensive to retake it – and overran large swathes of territory in the northern and western parts of the country.

According to the UN, some 58,000 people have been killed in violence since Daesh captured large parts of Iraq in 2014.