Islamic State militants attacked Iraqi security forces on the western outskirts of Baghdad yesterday in their largest assault near the capital for months, while two suicide blasts in a mainly Shia district killed 70 people.
Suicide bombers and gunmen in vehicles and on foot launched the attack on Abu Ghraib at dawn, killing at least 17 members of the security forces, officials said.
Fighting was still raging last night. Officials blamed Islamic State, also knon as Isis, and a news agency that supports the group said it had launched a “wide attack” in Abu Ghraib, 25km from the city centre.
Iraqi forces backed by US-led coalition air strikes have driven Islamic State back in western Anbar province and are preparing to retake the northern city of Mosul, but the militants are still able to strike in Baghdad and other cities.
Later in the day, two suicide bombers on motorcycles blew themselves up in a crowded market in the Shia Sadr City district, wounding more than 100 people in addition to the dead. In a statement online, Islamic State said they had carried out the attack. – (Reuters)