Suicide attack on Iraq wedding kills at least 17

A suicide bomber detonated an explosives-laden vehicle at a wedding gathering in a town west of the Iraqi capital on Thursday, killing at least 17 people, officials said.

The attack, which took place in Amriyat al-Fallujah, a town in Anbar province 40 kilometres from the capital, also left more than 30 people wounded.

"A suicide car bomb targeted wedding goers as they were eating dinner, leading to many deaths and injuries," Khudhair al-Issawi, the spokesman for local militia Hashd al-Amriya, told The New Arab.

Medical sources said that many of the injured were in critical condition and the death toll could rise.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, but the Islamic State group [IS] frequently carries out suicide bombings targeting civilians in Iraq.

The attack came three days after twin suicide bombings claimed by IS struck Fallujah, a city northwest of Amriyat al-Fallujah, killing at least 15 people.

Anbar police chief Hadi Kassar said that security forces have arrested several IS militants responsible for planning Monday's attacks.

IS overran large areas north and west of Baghdad in 2014, but Iraqi forces have since regained much of the territory they lost, and they are now battling to oust the jihadists from Mosul, the last city they hold in the country.

While IS has been pushed back from areas it once held in eastern and central Anbar, the jihadist group still controls several towns in the province's west.

In October, an IS suicide bomber struck a wedding in northeast Syria as the bride and groom were exchanging vows, killing 32 people and wounding dozens.