At least 27 Shiite militiamen have been killed in a bomb blast on the outskirts of the Iraqi town of Jurf al-Sakhar on Monday after security forces pushed Islamic State militants out of the area over the weekend, army and police sources said.
The attacker, driving a Humvee vehicle packed with explosives and likely stolen from defeated government troops, also wounded 60 Shiite militiamen, who had helped government forces retake the town just south of the capital. Holding Jurf al-Sakhar is critical for Iraqi security forces who finally managed to drive out the Sunni insurgents after months of fighting.
It could allow Iraqi forces to prevent the Sunni insurgents from edging closer to the capital Baghdad, sever connections to their strongholds in western Anbar province, and stop them infiltrating the mainly Shi’ite Muslim south, Reuters reported.
The group has threatened to march on Baghdad, home to Special Forces and thousands of Shiite militias expected to put up fierce resistance if the capital comes under threat. The blast hit the militiamen, killing dozens and scattering body parts, according to a Reuters witness.
The next significant fighting near Baghdad is expected to take place just to the west in the Sunni heartland Anbar province.
The town of Amriyat al-Falluja has been surrounded by Islamic State militants on three sides for weeks. Security officials say government forces are gearing up for an operation designed to break the siege.
Gains in the Islamic State stronghold of Anbar could raise the morale of Iraqi troops after they collapsed in the face of a lighting advance by the insurgents in the north in June.
