Security: suicide bomber killed in northern Baghdad ambush

Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) Iraqi security killed a suicide bomber before carrying out an attack in northern Baghdad, according to Baghdad security authorities.

The Interior Ministry’s Baghdad Operations division said an attacker vested with an explosive belt and riding a motorbike was killed as security forces ambushed them in al-Zour region, north of the capital.

The United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI) says violence in the country left nearly 392 dead and 613 injured, excluding security members, during February. Baghdad was the second most affected province with 120 deaths and 300 injuries, according to the organization’s monthly casualty count. It excludes death toll among security members after Iraqi authorities had asked to get such information exclusively from security commands.

Islamic State militants have said they had been responsible for several bloody explosions and attacks that hit the capital in the past months, leaving casualties among civilians and security troops.

Some 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. They are concerned that the group could, however, shift to a guerilla-style war and lone wolf attacks after the recapture of mosul.