UPDATED: Islamic State claim attack on Najaf security checkpoint
People wounded after armed attack on a police checkpoint in Najaf
Najaf (IraqiNews.com) The Islamic State claimed on Sunday responsibility for an attack in Najaf which killed and wounded 17 the region of Qadisiya, according to security sources.
Najaf governor Loai al-Yasseri said in statements the attack left 10 dead and ten others wounded that all of the attackers were killed. Earlier reports had said casualties included both security personnel and civilians.
Since 2014, violence surged Across Iraq, with the Islamic State militants taking over wide areas of the country to establish a self-styled “Islamic Caliphate”.
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI) said in December that violence in Iraq during 2016 left more than 12000 dead and more than 14000 wounded. According to the organization, those dead included 6.492 civilians and 5.546 military personnel. Deaths and injuries occurred in Baghdad, Salahuddin, Nineveh, Kirkuk, Anbar and Diyala, UNAMI said, adding that they occurred during military operations against Islamic State as well as in shootings, bombings and suicide attacks.
Nobody claimed responsibility for the Sunday attack, but Some observers believe Islamic State militants have tended to carry out violent attacks in different provinces to divert attention from Mosul, where they struggle to defend their last bastion in Iraq against advancing Iraqi government and popular forces.