MOSCOW, August 11 (RIA Novosti) - A suicide bomber set off an explosive in the town of Jalawla northeast of Baghdad, killing 10 people and injuring 80, Reuters reported Monday, with reference to medical sources.
The attack came during violent fights between Islamic State (IS) militants and Kurdish forces, as IS fighters continued their offensive in the north of Iraq.
Earlier on Sunday, Kurdish forces regained control of the towns of Makhmur and Gwer in northern Iraq. Peshmerga spokesperson Halgord Hekmat said “US aerial support helped” to liberate the towns.
Late on Thursday, the US authorities launched a series of airstrikes targeting the positions of IS militants fighting in Iraq against Kurdish forces defending the city of Erbil. President Barack Obama also authorized humanitarian aid to Yazidi Kurds, one of the minority groups in Iraq repressed by IS fighters.
The Islamic State is a Sunni group that has been fighting in Syria and launched an offensive in Iraq in June. The group has taken over large parts of the country, with the goal of seizing Baghdad. Also in June, the group announced the establishment of a caliphate on the Iraq-Syria border.
