At Least 5 Killed and 24 Injured in Suicide Attack in Iraq

BAGHDAD – At least five people died and another 24 were injured Sunday in a suicide attacked carried out against a security checkpoint close to the southern Iraqi city of Najaf, a security source told EFE.

A group of armed assailants attacked a security checkpoint and detonated explosive-laden belts they were wearing when the officers tried to repel them.

The source said armed assailants had been traveling in a modern vehicle when they carried out the attack on a checkpoint in the district of Al-Qadisiyah, some 70 kilometers (43.5 miles) southwest of Najaf, a Shiite holy site some 240 km (150 mi) from Baghdad.

The death toll could go up, the source said, adding that the attack also caused material damage.

The attack has not been claimed by any group so far, and came the day after a double bombing killed at least 28 people in Baghdad.

Islamic State militants claimed responsibility for that attack.