BAGHDAD, April 28 (Xinhua) -- The Iraqi security forces on Tuesday foiled an attack by two suicide bombers on a security headquarters in the northern city of Kirkuk, leaving three people wounded, a local security source said.
The attack took place in the morning when two suicide bombers tried to storm the gate at the entrance of the Intelligence Directorate in al-Qadisiyah neighborhood in Kirkuk, some 250 km north of the Iraqi capital Baghdad, Thair al-Obeidi from the city police told Xinhua.
The guards at the gate of the directorate fired at the attackers and killed one of them, but the other one blew himself up before reaching the gate, al-Obeidi said.
The blast of the suicide bomber wounded two policemen and a civilian, al-Obeidi added.
The security forces intensified their presence at the scene and were deployed in nearby neighborhoods to secure the city, he said.
No group has so far claimed responsibility for the attack, but the Islamic State (IS) militant group, in most cases, was responsible for such suicide attacks targeting security forces and areas where crowds of people gather, including markets, cafes and mosques across Iraq.
Despite repeated military operations against the remnants of IS militants, the extremist militants are hiding in deserts, rugged areas as well as in Himreen mountain range which extends in the three provinces of Diyala, Salahudin and Kirkuk. They are capable of carrying out frequent guerilla attacks against security forces and civilians.
Earlier, the Iraqi Joint Operations Command said in a statement that a total of 135 IS militants have been killed in Iraq during the period between Jan. 1 to April 15 through 1,060 anti-IS operations by the Iraqi security forces.
It said that up to 88 security members and 82 civilians were also killed by the extremist militants during the same period. Enditem
