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Double suicide bomb attacks in Iraq's Diyala province kill 42 people Islamic State claims responsibility for twin attacks killing at least 58 in Iraq
(35 minutes later)
Two bombs striking neighbourhoods in Iraq’s eastern Diyala province have killed at least 42 people, officials said – less than a month after it was the scene of one of the deadliest attacks to hit the country in recent years. At least 58 people have been killed and more than 100 wounded in two blasts in eastern Iraq claimed by Islamic State in a province once considered mostly free of such dangers.
The more severe of Monday’s two attacks happened near the provincial capital, Baquba, located 35 miles (60km) north east of Baghdad. Police said a suicide car bomb exploded in a marketplace, killing at least 35 people and wounding 72 more. In January, Iraqi officials declared victory over the insurgents in Diyala province, which borders Iran, after security forces and Shi’ite paramilitaries drove them out of towns and villages. But the militants have remained active.
The second attack took place in the village of Kanaan, where officials said a suicide bomber blew himself up in a residential area, killing seven people and wounding 15. An explosion at a market in Huwaidar, about 2.5 miles north of the provincial capital of Baquba, killed 51 people and wounded at least 80, police and medical sources said.
Hospital officials corroborated the casualty figures. All spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorised to speak to journalists. “The attacker managed to pass a checkpoint by lining up with a wedding motorcade and then split off with his explosives-packed vehicle to blow it up in a crowded marketplace,” said the Diyala police captain, Mohammed al-Tamimi.
Residents in Diyala have been calling for greater protection by security forces after Islamic State bombed a crowded marketplace last month, killing 115 people, including women and children. The mostly Shia victims were gathered to mark the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. Isis, which controls large parts of northern and western Iraq, claimed responsibility for the attack in the mixed Sunni-Shia province and said the target was “rejectionists”, as the group refers to Shias.
The government in Baghdad vowed to apprehend the culprits and better secure Diyala but anger is rife in the volatile province, where a number of towns were captured by Isis last year. Iraqi forces and Kurdish fighters have since retaken those areas but clashes between the militants and security forces continue. A separate blast to the east of Baquba killed a further seven people and wounded 25. Islamic State said it had targeted a checkpoint manned by the army and volunteers from the Hashid Shaabi – an umbrella group for mainly Shia militias fighting the jihadist group.
Isis has been behind several similar large-scale attacks on civilians or military checkpoints as it seeks to expand its territory. The attacks took place less than a month after a bombing claimed by Islamic State in the nearby town of Khan Bani Saad, which killed more than 100 people and prompted riots.
Security forces and militia groups are currently focused on routing Islamic State from the western province of Anbar, where they have been gearing up for an offensive to retake the sprawling Sunni heartland.