Suicide bombers target town outside Baghdad

Suicide bombers target town outside Baghdad
At least six people are dead after suicide bombers targeted Amiriyat Fallujah.
2 min read
Baghdad has been targeted several times this week [Getty]
More than a dozen suicide bombers attacked a residential and government complex outside Baghdad on Saturday, killing at least six people.

The police chief of the town of Amiriyat Fallujah, Colonel Ali al-Issawi, said at least 14 suicide attackers broke into the complex at dawn.

In addition to homes, the complex also includes a police station and several government offices.

Al-Issawi said five of the attackers blew up themselves during a firefight with security forces, while others holed up inside the buildings, and were later killed.

He added that five troops and one civilian were killed, while another 18 people were wounded.

The town is located a few miles south of Fallujah, the main Islamic State group stronghold in Anbar province, about 40 miles (65km) west of Baghdad.

IS still controls key areas in northern and western Iraq, including the country's second largest city, Mosul. The group has declared an Islamic caliphate on the territory it holds in Iraq and Syria.

Iraqi troops, backed by paramilitary militias and US airstrikes, have recaptured a number of cities and towns in recent months.

However IS has responded with a string of deadly bombings far from the front lines in a campaign that Iraqi officials say is an attempt to distract from their battlefield losses.

More than 100 people have been killed in in a string of bombings, mainly in Baghdad, since Wednesday.