A truck packed with explosives detonated near the village bazaar in Aweinat, Iraq’s Security Media Cell announced Sunday.
Although nobody has claimed responsibility for the blast, Iraq’s official security outlet said it was a “terrorist attack”.
It follows a string of recent attacks across northern Iraq claimed by the Islamic State group (ISIS), which has returned to its earlier insurgency tactics of bombings, ambushes, and kidnappings.
Photograph published by Iraq's Security Media Cell shows the aftermath of Sunday's bombing near the village bazaar in Aweinat, Nineveh province, May 26, 2019. Photo: Security Media Cell / Facebook
At least five people were killed and two wounded in two separate explosions claimed by ISIS on Friday and Saturday in Sharqat, Saladin province.
ISIS has also adopted a new strategy of terror, burning fields of wheat and barley just before harvest time, mainly in the disputed territories.
Eight fires broke out in Kirkuk province on Saturday night, destroying crops.
In the last week alone, 600 dunams of land planted with wheat and barley were set on fire by the militant group.
ISIS was declared territorially defeated in Iraq in December 2017 and in Syria in March 2019.
Remnants of the group now thrive in the demarcation line between the Kurdish Peshmerga and Iraqi security forces. Here jihadists are able to exploit security gaps, moving around freely and interacting with Sunni residents.
