Politics
20:19, 24-Jun-2017
10 people fleeing ISIL-held town killed in Iraq bomb attack
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Ten people were killed and six others wounded on Saturday in a roadside bomb explosion while fleeing their homes in a town seized by ISIL militants in Iraq's northern Kirkuk province, a security source told media.
The incident took place in the morning when the families, who fled the town of Hawijah in southwestern Kirkuk, were moving on a road in the mountainous Himreen area, some 50 km east of Tikrit, the capital city of the neighboring Salahudin province, the source said on condition of anonymity.
Most of the killed and wounded were women and children, the source said. They were seeking help from security forces outside the besieged town of Hawijah, the source added.
The civilians in the ISIL-held town of Hawijah were prevented from leaving their homes by militants who used them as human shields during armed military attacks.
Hundreds of people were killed by roadside bombs planted by ISIL militants in the past months, while they were trying to flee the areas seized by the extremist group.
The incident came as Iraqi security forces, backed by the anti-ISIL international coalition, continue a major offensive to dislodge ISIL militants from their major stronghold in western Mosul in northern Iraq.
(Source: Xinhua)
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