UPDATED: Car bombing in Tikrit causes 21 casualties

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – A car bomb on Sunday rocked central Tikrit, the capital city of Iraq's Salahuddin Province and one-time stronghold of the Islamic State (IS). 

"The blast resulted in the deaths of three women and two men while sixteen other individuals were injured," a security source told Kurdistan 24 shortly after the blast.

The explosion rang out just hours after the Iraqi Air Force raided IS positions near a small town north of Tikrit, killing ten militants, according to a statement by the Ministry of Defense.
A statement later released by the Ministry of Interior read that the explosion had been carried out using "a car bomb parked on al-Atba street in the city of Tikrit in Salahuddin province." The ministry also confirmed the casualty numbers given earlier by the security source.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but the attack is similar to attacks previously carried out by the IS in the area. 

In early November, a similar incident occurred on the same street near a local school when an explosion injured several bypassers, including students.

After falling to the jihadist group in mid-2014, Iraqi forces, with the support of the US-led coalition, liberated Tikrit in April 2015.

Despite Iraqi forces pushing IS fighters from large cities like Tikrit and declaring final victory late last year after a devastating three-year war, the extremist group continues to carry out attacks, bombings, and assassinations in many cities.

Iraqi officials have warned civilians to be on the lookout for IS sleeper cells, still active in many liberated areas across the country.

Editing by John J. Catherine