Car bombing foiled, driver arrested west of Baghdad
Aftermath of Baghdad car bomb explosion. File photo.
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) A joint security force detonated a booby-trapped vehicle and arrested its driver at a checkpoint west of Baghdad, a security source was quoted saying.
A security source told Baghdad Today that a security force, backed by the pro-government Popular Mobilization Forces, seized a booby-trapped vehicle at the Soqour (Falcons) checkpoint between Baghdad and Anbar, and arrested its driver.
No casualties resulted from the explosion, according to the source.
Violence and armed conflicts left more than 700 Iraqis dead and wounded during the month of June, according to a monthly count by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq which excludes security members deaths. Baghdad came second in terms of casualties, with 22 deaths and 88 injuries.
Baghdad has seen almost daily bombings and armed attacks against security members, paramilitary groups and civilians since the Iraqi government launched a wide-scale campaign to retake IS-occupied areas in 2016. While most of of the explosions attacks went without a claim of responsibility, Islamic State has claimed several incidents.
Some security observers believe that even after IS’s main havens across Iraqi provinces are conquered, the group may still constitute a security threat through sleeper cells and lone wolf attacks. They believe attacks outside Mosul are designed to make up for the group’s losses there.