Suicide car bomb hits US consulate in Iraq

A suicide car bomb went off on Friday near the US consulate in the city of Arbil, capital of the Kurdistan, leaving unknown number of casualties, a Kurdish security source said.

The incident occurred in the afternoon when a suicide bomber tried to approach the US consulate in Aynkawa district in western Arbil, but the guards opened fire on the attacker and forced him to blew it up before he reached the entrance of the consulate, Xinhua quoted source as saying.

"There is no immediate reports about casualties, but the blast damaged several nearby buildings and cars," the source added.

The security situation in Iraq has been drastically deteriorated since June last year, when bloody clashes broke out between Iraqi security forces and the IS.