Iraq: Car bomb blast kills four, wounds 15 near Mosul

At least four people have been killed and 15 others wounded in a car bomb blast in the northern Iraq’s town of Qayyara, police and medical sources said.

A vehicle packed with explosives was parked near a restaurant and a crowded market area, south of the city of Mosul, police said on Tuesday.

Health official said the death toll might rise as some of the wounded were in a critical condition.

No group immediately claimed responsibility, but Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS, also known as ISIL) fighters often carry out such attacks.

Iraq declared victory over ISIS in December, dislodging the group from all territories it held after its self-proclaimed caliphate, which also composed part of Syria, collapsed earlier in 2017.

The group’s fighters have since waged a campaign of kidnapping, killing and bomb attacks targeting civilians and security forces.

An interior ministry spokesman said the blast was a result of a “terrorist attack by a car bomb”.