Suicide attack kills 11 south of Baghdad

BAGHDAD – A suicide car bomber struck a checkpoint manned by Iraqi troops and pro-government Shiite militiamen south of Baghdad on Monday, killing at least 11 people, officials said.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, which occurred on the outskirts of the Sunni town of Jurf al-Sakhar, 50 kilometres (30 miles) south of Baghdad, but the bombing bore all the hallmarks of the Islamic State group.

The IS militants lost control of the town only the previous day, when Iraqi soldiers and the Shiite militia retook Jurf al-Sakhar from the Sunni extremist group. The Islamic State group had seized the town in July, as part of its blitz that captures large swaths of northern and western Iraq.

In Monday’s attack, the bomber rammed his explosives-laden car into the checkpoint, killing at least 11 people and wounding 23, a police officer said.

Two medical officials confirmed the casualty figures. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity as they aren’t authorized to talk to media.

Jurf al-Sakhar is part of a predominantly Sunni ribbon of territory that runs just south of Baghdad and lies on a road usually taken by Shite pilgrims when they head in droves to the holy Shiite city of Karbala further to the south.

Pilgrims will be taking the route again next week in order to commemorate the death of the Prophet Muhammad’s grandson, Imam Hussein — one of the most revered Shiite martyrs.

The shocking offensive by the Islamic State group, which captured not just territories in Iraq but also roughly a third of neighbouring Syria, has plunged Iraq into its worst crisis since U.S. troops left at the end of 2011.