Suspected Islamic State attack in southeast Mosul leaves 12 casualties

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – A twin bomb attack in Iraq’s Mosul has left at least 12 casualties, a local military officer said on Saturday.

The incident occurred in the town of Sanjej, southeast of Mosul, Colonel Ahmed al-Jabouri told Anadolu Agency.

The first explosion killed two people, a farmer and a tribal fighter, Jabouri said, adding another blast went off as “locals and tribal fighters gathered to help the victims,” injuring 10 people.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, although the so-called Islamic State (IS) is usually blamed for such incidents.

According to Jabouri, Iraqi police are looking for four possible suspects who are believed to have ties with the extremist group.

Mosul, IS’ self-proclaimed capital, was liberated by Iraqi forces in July 2017, with the help of Kurdistan Region Peshmerga forces and US-led coalition airstrikes.

Manwhile, earlier on Saturday, IS fighters killed at least five people in an attack near Iraq’s largest oil refinery outside the town of Baiji, a local security source told Kurdistan 24.

The militants launched an attack in the village of al-Bujwari, near the Baiji oil refinery, which Iraqi forces liberated from the extremist group in 2015. 

Baiji, located 230 kilometers north of Baghdad, is Iraq’s leading refinery, producing roughly one-third of the nation’s total output.

Some young men took up arms to repel the attack on their village, but five of them were killed and one more injured, the source said. Among the dead were four brothers from two families.

The militants used light and medium weapons in their attack before fleeing to an unknown location, according to the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Despite Iraq declaring a “final victory” over IS last December, the group continues to launch insurgency-style attacks, kidnappings, and ambushes in several areas, including the disputed provinces of Kirkuk, Diyala, and Salahuddin, where Baiji is located.