International
0

Car Bomb Kills 14 in Iraq

Car Bomb Kills 14 in Iraq
Car Bomb Kills 14 in Iraq

Authorities in Iraq said a car bomb attack near a market killed 14 people in a town northeast of Baghdad. Police officials said the attack took place Saturday night in the Shia town of Balad Ruz, killing 14 people and wounding 37 others.

Medics in a nearby hospital confirmed the death toll. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to journalists.

Nobody claimed responsibility, but the IS insurgent group, which controls large swaths of the country, frequently claims attacks targeting security forces and people, AP reported.

Balad Ruz is 70 km northeast of Baghdad. Several shops and cars were damaged in the attack. Police sealed off the blast area.

In related news, an Iraqi general said on Sunday troops backed by Shia militias have recaptured key parts of the northern refinery town of Beiji from IS militants.

The commander of the Interior Ministry’s Quick Reaction Forces, Brig. Gen. Nassir al-Fartousi, told state TV Sunday that the Iraqi flag was raised on a local government building in Beiji and that troops were advancing, without elaborating.

There was no word on the fate of the contested refinery on the town’s outskirts.

Beiji, some 250 km north of Baghdad, fell to the extremist group during its blitz across northern Iraq a year ago, but parts of the town and nearby refinery have since been retaken by government forces.

 

Financialtribune.com