KHURMATU, Salahadin Province — At least five people were killed and 15 others injured in the town of Tuz Khurmatu when a suicide bomber set off his explosive-laden car against Shiite Hashd al-Shaabi Saturday. “The Hashd al-Shaabi’s checkpoint is located in a market in the Shiite neighborhood,” Khurmatu Police Chief Farouq Ahmad told Rudaw, adding that his forces have been sent to the explosion sight to control the security situation. No further details were given on the identity of the victims and no group has yet claimed responsibility for the suicide attack. Khurmatu is a majority Kurdish city located in Salahadin province 55 miles south of Kirkuk. The city still has substantial Kurdish and Arab populations however, and the mostly Shiite Arab Hashd al-Shaabi have in past months feuded with Kurdish Peshmerga forces despite both factions also fighting the Islamic State.
