Security forces in Kirkuk thwart suicide bombing at National Security Directorate

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – A would-be suicide bomber was stopped by security forces before reaching the Kirkuk’s National Security Directorate building on Thursday, according to Iraq's top security communications center.

Security guards shot dead the attacker before he managed to get inside the building, resulting in his belt detonating, the Iraqi Security Media Cell said in a statement. Two security personnel were lightly injured by the explosion, the statement said.

Photos of the scene taken by a Kurdistan 24 correspondent showed a body lying outside the building's gate.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack but remnants of ISIS are active around territories disputed between the Iraqi government and the autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government.

Officials from Kurdistan have long called for a joint security plan between Peshmerga and Iraqi forces to fill the security vacuum in the disputed areas, including Kirkuk.

Editing by Joanne Stocker-Kelly