Iraqi security forces foil suicide bomb attack in Baghdad

A suicide bomber was shot dead by Iraqi forces in Baghdad on Monday before he went on with an attack at the north of the capital, the Baghdad Operation of the Iraqi Interior Ministry announced in a statement.
The forces received an intelligence tip about a suicide bomber wearing an explosive belt and moving between the districts of al-Salman and al-Boushallal, according to the statement.
The suspect was ambushed and shot dead at an unpopulated area, said the statement.
Violence surged in Iraq with the emergence of Islamic State militants who took over large areas of the country in 2014. Baghdad has been witnessing almost daily bombings targeting civilians and security personnel.
Islamic State militants have said they were responsible for several bloody explosions that hit the capital in the past weeks, bringing the governorate municipal and security officials under critics’ fire.
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI) said violence in the country left 19000 casualties in nine months of 2016.
Observers believe Islamic State have begun to escalate attacks outside the city of Mosul, where the group has been losing ground and personnel since October, so as to relieve pressure by government forces on that front and to divert attention from group losses.
While losing Mosul could be the severest blow to the group’s existence in Iraq, some observers believe attacks outside the province prove that the extremist group can still pose a security threat.