Roadside bomb kills two, wounds 14 in police bus outside Kirkuk

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – An explosion caused by a roadside bomb on the outskirts of Iraq's oil-rich city of Kirkuk killed two and injured 14 more riding on a minibus transporting federal police on Tuesday, a security source said.

The explosive device placed on the side of the road near the village of Dharban between the town of Baiji and Kirkuk exploded when the vehicle carrying members of the federal police drove by, the source told Kurdistan 24 on condition of anonymity.

The blast occurred as police officers were on their way to the Baghdad-Kirkuk road to return policemen to their homes in a work minibus, killing its civilian driver and a police officer, the source continued.

Police often follow the same route, one that has seen similar attacks in the past.

After the incident, security forces arrived at the location and transported the injured to a nearby hospital for treatment and the dead to a morgue for forensic investigation.

The Islamic State (IS) is known to plant improvised explosive devices, known as IEDs, in territories they previously occupied to ensure their destructive legacy would continue beyond the group’s control.

Despite Iraq’s declaration of a full victory over IS, the militant group continues to carry out insurgency-style attacks in several provinces in Iraq including in areas disputed between the Kurdistan Region and Baghdad. Iraqi security forces are a common target of such attacks.

Editing by John J. Catherine