Suicide Truck Bomber Kills 17 in Baghdad

A suicide truck bomber targeted a police checkpoint in southern Baghdad on Wednesday night, killing 17 people and wounding at least 60 others.

The bomber detonated the vehicle – an oil tanker laden with explosives, security and hospital officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity under regulations.

Three policemen were among the dead while the rest were civilians, and a number of police were also wounded, the officials said.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but Daesh (ISIL) terrorist group has carried out similar attacks in the past, according to Al Jazeera.

Iraqi forces are fighting Daesh in western Mosul, where some 2,000 fighters are launching fierce counter-attacks. After launching the operation to retake Mosul in October, Iraqi authorities in January declared they recaptured eastern Mosul, which is separated from the city’s western neighborhoods by the Tigris River.

Iraqi special forces and police fought Daesh to edge closer to the al-Nuri mosque in western Mosul on Wednesday, tightening their control around the landmark site.