Suicide bombers strike in two Iraqi cities, killing 11 - officials

TIKRIT, Iraq, Nov 6 (Reuters) - A suicide attacker detonated an ambulance packed with explosives in Tikrit on Sunday, killing nine people at the southern entrance to the city, police and hospital sources said.

The bomber struck during the busy morning rush hour. Authorities declared a curfew in the city, saying they had information that further attacks were possible.

In Samarra, about 50 km (30 miles) south of Tikrit, two people were killed when a suicide car bomber struck a car park for Shi'ite pilgrims visiting the city's al-Askari mosque, sources said. </s> SAMARRA: Two suicide bombers attacked a celebration being held the night before a wedding north of Baghdad, killing 26 people, a police officer and a doctor said on Thursday.

The bombings in the Al-Hajaj area, north of the city of Tikrit, also wounded 25 people, the sources said.

“The first blew himself up at 8:30 pm (1730 GMT on Wednesday) amid men who were dancing during the celebration,” while the second attacked a few minutes later, a police lieutenant colonel said.

The bombers detonated explosive belts, the officer said.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, but the Islamic State jihadist group carries out frequent suicide bombings targeting both civilians and members of the security forces in Iraq. </s> Suicide bombings claimed by the Islamic State (IS) group killed at least 25 people and wounded more than 50 in two cities north of Baghdad on Sunday, officials said.

One bomber detonated an explosives-rigged vehicle at the southern entrance to Tikrit, while another other blew up an ambulance at a car park in Samarra, possibly in concert with a third bomber.

The Tikrit attack killed at least 15 people and wounded at least 33, while at least 10 died and at least 25 were wounded in Samarra, security and medical officials said. Iranian pilgrims were among the victims in Samarra, which is home to a major Shia shrine that was bombed in 2006.

IS issued a statement claiming responsibility, identifying two of the bombers as “Al-Moslawi” — a nom de guerre that would indicate they were from Mosul, though it could be a propaganda attempt to link militants from other areas with the ongoing battle for Iraq’s second city. </s> ERBIL, Iraq, March 8 (Reuters) - Two bomb blasts, from an apparent suicide attack, hit a wedding party in a village near the Iraqi city of Tikrit on Wednesday, killing or wounding at least 15 people, a medical source and local notables said.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack in Hajjaj, 20 km (14 miles) north of Tikrit.

The death toll was not immediately confirmed as the bodies had not yet arrived at hospital, the medical source said.

In November Islamic State bomb attacks hit Tikrit and Samarra, both north of Baghdad, as an apparent diversionary attacks as Iraqi forces drive back the jihadists in their stronghold of Mosul. (Writing by John Davison; Editing by Robin Pomeroy) </s> The bomber struck during the busy morning rush hour. Authorities declared a curfew in the city, saying they had information that further attacks were possible.

In Samarra, about 50 km (30 miles) south of Tikrit, two people were killed when a suicide car bomber struck a car park for Shi'ite pilgrims visiting the city's al-Askari mosque, sources said.

The attacks took place as Iraqi troops and security forces, backed by a U.S.-led international coalition, were fighting to drive Islamic State militants out of the northern city of Mosul which they have controlled for the last two years. </s> TIKRIT, Iraq: Suicide bombers driving ambulances packed with explosives detonated their vehicles at a checkpoint and a car park for Shiite 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 Daesh militants who have controlled it for more than two years.

They appeared to be part of a series of diversionary attacks by the ultra-hard-line Sunni Islamists, who have struck the Kurdish-controlled city of Kirkuk, the capital Baghdad and a western desert town during the three-week Mosul campaign.

The Daesh group’s Amaq news agency said the attacks were carried out by the militant group.

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 Shiite Islam’s holiest shrines, Al-Askari mosque in Samarra, south of Tikrit.

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.

Amaq said two suicide bombers struck in Samarra, the first detonating a car bomb and the second activating an explosives vest among a group of people who survived the first blast. It said the Tikrit attack was carried out by a single car bomber.

Iraqi troops and security forces, backed by a US-led international coalition, are battling Daesh militants 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. 



(Reporting by Ghazwan Hassan in Tikrit, Ahmed Rasheed in Baghdad and Ahmed Tolba in Cairo) </s> An attack by suicide bombers in the Iraqi city of Tikrit killed at least 31 people and injured at least 42, army and police officers said on Wednesday.

A police lieutenant colonel said the attack began when three militants opened fire in central Tikrit on Tuesday night. They later blew themselves up inside homes in the area.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, but the Islamic State jihadist group carries out frequent suicide bombings targeting Iraqi civilians and security forces.

The Islamic State seized Tikrit during a lightning offensive that overran large areas north and west of Baghdad in the summer of 2014, but Iraqi forces recaptured it the following year.

Iraqi forces are now battling to retake west Mosul — the country's last city in which the jihadists hold significant ground.

But the jihadists still hold other areas in western Iraq and eastern Syria, and they will remain able to carry out deadly bombings even if all areas under their control are recaptured. </s> Iraq's Defense Ministry said a twin suicide bombing targeting a village wedding north of Baghdad has killed at least 20 people Wednesday, March 8. The ministry said two suicide bombers walked into the wedding party in Al-Hajaj village, near the city of Tikrit, on Wednesday evening. It said up to 13 people were wounded.

Start the conversation, or Read more at Sun-Star. </s> Samarra - Suicide bombers killed seven people and wounded 12 in an attack on a power plant north of Baghdad on Saturday, an Iraqi security official said.

Armed with grenades and wearing explosives belts, three attackers entered the facility in Samarra, about 100km north of the capital, at 2:00 AM, the official told AFP.

"They attacked the plant's workers, killing seven and wounding 12, according to an initial assessment," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Security reinforcements then arrived on the scene, killing two of the bombers and evacuating the employees.

The attack comes as Iraqi Shiites mark the first day of the Eid al-Adha feast.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, but the Islamic State jihadist group frequently carries out suicide bombings in Iraq.

In 2014, IS captured almost a third of Iraqi territory in a lightning offensive. It now only holds two pockets of territory in the country.
Suicide bombers strike in the cities of Tikrit and Samarra in Iraq, killing at least 21.