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'IS' suicide attack in Iraqi Kurdistan

November 3, 2015

'Islamic State' militants have killed four people in a relatively rare attack in Kurdish territory in northern Iraq. The assault happened in Dibis, an area that had not been attacked for more than a year.

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Iraqi police officer
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/K. Kadim

Local officials described how a suicide bomber from the self-proclaimed "Islamic State" (IS) militant group, along with a second attacker, targeted the entrance to a police building in the town of Dibis in Kirkuk province on Tuesday.

Four people were killed and 15 others wounded in the assault, which saw two more militants enter the police building and local government headquarters.

The three remaining attackers were subsequently killed.

A policeman at the scene told Reuters that at least two of his colleagues were killed in the initial explosion. He added that fighting was continuing around the police compound.

Located 50 kilometers (30 miles) from the Kurdish capital Erbil, Dibis lies near the Bai Hassan oilfield northwest of the Kirkuk provincial capital.

The town is far from the areas of the province held by IS. The group overran large parts of Iraq and Syria last year.

Kurdish forces were able to capture Dibis and large parts of Kirkuk province during last year's conflict, but IS still controls southern areas of the province.

In recent months, the Kurdish peshmerga have driven back the militants from northern Iraq, largely insulating their area from the violent instability seen elsewhere in the country.

mm/jm (AFP, Reuters)