Double suicide bombing in Iraq kills 3

A double suicide bombing inside a restaurant near the Iraqi city of Tikrit on Tuesday left three people dead and 34 injured, officials said.

The assailants detonated belts laden with explosives inside the restaurant located some 15 km to the north of Tikrit, the regional capital of the restive Saladin Governorate, Efe news reported.

Security forces said they managed to kill another would-be assailant who was trying to enter the premises. Police locked down the surrounding area to prevent any further attacks.

The latest attack, which struck the area some 140 km north of Baghdad, adds to a tumultuous week in Iraq as it follows a separate twin bombing in the southern province of Dhi Qar that killed 83 people.

The Islamic State terror organisation often claims such attacks in Iraq and in neighbouring Syria where they have declining territorial presence.

The IS had yet to claim Tuesday's Tikrit bombing, however.

--IANS

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