Two suicide bombers detonated themselves in front of the gate of the headquarters of the Intelligence Service of the Iraqi Ministry of Interior in Kirkuk Governorate (north of Baghdad) after the guards confronted them and prevented them from storming it.
Iraqi security sources said that two ISIS operatives were wearing two explosive belts, which blew themselves up near the building in Al-Qadisiyah neighborhood (southeast of Kirkuk) after they tried to storm it, indicating that the guards responded to them, which resulted in a number of injuries among the security elements.
The sources pointed out that the security forces were quick to close roads, cordon off the site of the explosion and conduct a search campaign in search of the organization's elements involved in the operation. Anadolu news agency reported that two guards and a civilian were injured while passing by at the site.
The attacks of suspected ISIS militants have increased in the past few months, especially in the region between the provinces of Kirkuk, Salahuddin and Diyala (north and northeast of Baghdad), known as the "Triangle of Death".
A week ago, the Ministry of Defense announced that 170 civilians and military personnel had been killed, along with 135 members of the Islamic State, during clashes since last January.
In 2017, Iraq declared victory over the Islamic State by reclaiming all of its lands, which were estimated to be about a third of the country’s area, and which the organization invaded in the summer of 2014.
But the organization still keeps sleeping cells in large areas of the country, and launch attacks between different periods.