At least 2 killed in suicide car bomb attack in Iraq's Fallujah

At least two security members were killed and three other wounded on Saturday in a suicide car bomb attack and two under control roadside bomb explosions in the city of Fallujah in Iraq's western province of Anbar, a local police source said.

The attacks took place in the early morning when a suicide car bomb went off at a joint checkpoint of army soldiers, policemen and allied tribal fighters guarding the western entrance of Fallujah, some 50 km west of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

The blast killed two security members and wounded three others, along with destroying several buildings and military vehicles at the checkpoint, the source said.

Later on, the security forces carried out controlled explosions for two roadside bombs found inside Fallujah without casualties, the source said.

Earlier, the source told Xinhua that many security members were killed and wounded in two suicide car bombs at the checkpoint in the western entrance of Fallujah.

No group has so far claimed the attacks, but the Islamic State, in most cases, is responsible for such suicide bombings targeting Iraqi security forces as well as crowded areas, including markets, cafes and mosques across the country.

Iraqi security forces and allied militias freed Fallujah, a once major stronghold for IS, in mid-July last year.

The two attacks came as the Iraqi security forces backed by an anti-IS international coalition are carrying out a major offensive to drive out IS militants from its last major stronghold in and around Mosul.

Many blame the current chronic instability, cycle of violence, and the emergence of extremist groups, such as the IS, on the U.S., which invaded and occupied Iraq in March 2003.

source: Xinhua