Suicide bomber kills himself, wounds two officers in raid in Iraq

An Iraqi man wearing an explosive belt detonated himself as security forces attempted to arrest him in western Iraq near the Syrian border, wounding two members of the security forces, Iraqi officials said on February 6.

A security official said that the incident occurred during a raid in the al-Khasim area of the al-Qaim district in Anbar province, which borders Syria. The man blew himself up while being confronted by security forces, killing himself. No security personnel were killed in the blast, the official said, Caliber.Az reports via foreign media. 

In a separate statement, Iraq’s National Security Agency said its forces had surrounded a hideout belonging to a senior ISIS security official, known within the group as the “Anbar Security” chief, along with two associates.

According to the statement, the operation was carried out based on “accurate intelligence.” During the siege, two of the suspected militants detonated explosive belts, killing themselves.

ISIS, which once controlled large parts of Iraq and Syria, was territorially defeated in Iraq in 2017, but its remnants continue to carry out sporadic attacks, particularly in remote and border regions.

By Sabina Mammadli