Assailants attempt attack on police stations in Iraq’s Samarra

Five assailants wearing explosive belts have attempted an attack on a police station in the Iraqi city of Samarra.  

According to local press reports, the assailants approached the Mutawakil police station in Samarra’s al-Sekek neighborhood on Monday but were identified before they were able to detonate their explosives of their own accord.

There were conflicting reports on the circumstances around the attempted attack. Some reports said security forces shot three of the attackers, detonating the explosives on two of them, who were killed as a result of the explosions. No one else was hurt in the blasts. The third assailant shot at died of gun wounds, the fourth assailant was taken into custody, and no information was available on the fifth, according to some local reports.

Other reports said all of the five attackers had been killed.

Daesh has claimed responsibility for the Mutawakil attack via the Amaq news agency, which is affiliated to the terrorist group.

Daesh has also claimed responsibility for a similar attack in the city in November when five terrorists killed four police officers after entering Samarra.

Earlier on Monday, at least 39 people were killed and 57 more injured after a terrorist car bomb attack rocked a busy square in Sadr City, a Shia-populated suburban district of Baghdad.

Reports said that an explosive-laden truck was detonated in an outdoor market, hitting day laborers and a nearby police checkpoint.

Gruesome violence has plagued parts of Iraq ever since Daesh terrorists mounted an offensive and took control of portions of the Iraqi territory more than two years ago.

Iraqi army troops and allied fighters are currently engaged in an operation to recapture Mosul, the last Daesh stronghold in the country.