2 suicide bombers hit security forces in Iraq's Fallujah

Two suicide car bomb attacks struck security forces in the city of Fallujah in Iraq's western Anbar province, leaving many security members killed and wounded, a police source said.

The attack took place in 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.

Minutes later, another suicide bomber rammed his explosive-laden car into the checkpoint and detonated it when many security members were gathering at the site of the first blast, the source said.

The two blasts destroyed the several buildings and military vehicles and caused human casualties, but the source could not immediately give further details.

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