Suicide bombers kill three in northern Iraq restaurant frequented by Shia militiamen

Suicide bombers kill three in northern Iraq restaurant frequented by Shia militiamen
Two suicide bombers killed at least three people and wounded 34 on Tuesday in a northern Iraq restaurant frequented by militiamen battling the Islamic State group.

2 min read
19 September, 2017
Archive: There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack [Getty]

Two suicide bombers killed at least three people and wounded 34 on Tuesday in a northern Iraq restaurant frequented by militiamen battling the Islamic State group, security sources said.

The twin bombings came just five days after a gun and bomb attack on a restaurant and nearby checkpoint in southern Iraq killed 84 people, the deadliest assault claimed by the jihadists since their defeat in second city Mosul in July.

The bombers struck on Tuesday in the town of Hajaj, in Salaheddin province between the cities of Tikrit and Baiji.

"Two attackers detonated their explosive belts in a restaurant in Hajaj, killing three people and wounding 34," interior ministry spokesman Saad Maan said in a statement.

Colonel Abdel Karim al-Bazi told The New Arab that security forces had shot dead a third assailant, who had attempted to blow himself up and failed.

Bazi said the death toll could rise as several of the wounded were in a critical condition.

The restaurant was reportedly frequented by members of the Hashed al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilisation), a paramilitary force mainly composed of Iran-backed Shia militias, which have played a major role in the fightback against IS.

There was no immediate claim for Tuesday's bombings.

Last Thursday's attack in the southern city of Nasiriyah was swiftly claimed by IS.