28-03-2024 10:28 AM Jerusalem Timing

Iraq Suicide Blast Rocks University, Army kills Attackers, Clears Building

Iraq Suicide Blast Rocks University, Army kills Attackers, Clears Building

Attacks in Iraq, including a suicide bombing at Baghdad’s Imam Kadhim University in north of the city, killed at least nine people on Sunday.

Iraq: Suicide blast hitting Imam Kadhim University north of BaghdadAttacks in Iraq, including a suicide bombing at Baghdad's Imam Kadhim University in north of the city, killed at least nine people on Sunday, security and medical officials said.

Iraqi army forces on Sunday killed two militants and arrested a third, bringing an end to an attack by suspected members of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) on the university building.

A unit of army Special Forces killed two militants wearing explosive belts who were holed up inside the Imam Kadhim University building and arrested a third, a security source, who asked to remain anonymous, told Anadolu Agency.

A fourth militant had earlier blown himself up inside the building, added the source.

The source said at least four people, including two security guards, were killed in the process and 11 others injured.

Government troops are currently besieging the university building in eastern Baghdad, added the source.

Suspected ISIL militants had stormed the building earlier in the day after blowing up the university entrance with an explosives-laden vehicle and killing five guards.

The ISIL has not claimed responsibility for the university attack.

For months, the Iraqi government has been battling ISIL – accused by authorities to be linked to al-Qaeda.

The Iraqi army has waged a major offensive in the Anbar province since last December with the stated aim of flushing ISIL militants out of the key cities of Ramadi and Fallujah.

Meanwhile, in Babil province, south of Baghdad, a car bomb killed three people and wounded four, while two more car bombs killed three people and wounded 26 in Al-Rumaitha in Muthanna province, further south.

Iraqis are to vote on April 30 in the first parliamentary election since American troops left the country in late 2011.

Iraq is hit by daily bombings and shootings that kill hundreds of people each month, but attacks targeting universities are relatively rare.