Iraq:14 killed in suicide bomb attack

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At least 14 people were killed and 20 injured in a suicide bomb attack at a camp for displaced Iraqis in the western province of Anbar on Sunday.

According to local officials, the bomber was reportedly disguised in a woman's all-covering robe.

The AFP news agency quoted a doctor and a police officer as saying that most of the victims were women and children.

Adnan Fayhan, head of the local council in the Al-Wafaa area where the camp is located, said that the camp would be closed following the attack.

The Al-Wafaa district /AFP Photo

"All the displaced people in the camp will be brought to the 18 Kilo camp west of Ramadi," as it is "safer and receives more aid," Fayhan said.

Islamic State militants (IS militants), who have been facing mounting US-backed offensives in Iraq and neighboring Syria, claimed responsibility for the assault.

IS militants overran large areas north and west of Baghdad in 2014, but Iraqi forces backed by US-led air strikes and other support have since regained much of the territory they lost.

Iraqi forces have pushed ISIL out of most of Anbar, and are now in the final stages of a major offensive in the northern city of Mosul.

Security in some parts of Iraq will likely worsen as IS loses more ground and increasingly returns to insurgent-style bombings and hit-and-run attacks.

(With inputs from AFP)

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