Sunni mosques firebombed in east Iraq

There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but Islamic State militants controlling swathes of Iraq’s north and west said they were behind Tuesday’s blasts in Muqdadiya and earlier attacks at a Baghdad mall that killed 18 people.

The government, led by a Shi’ite Prime Minister, Haider al-Abadi, said Ramadi would be handed over to local police, a Sunni tribal force once it was secured as a measure meant to win over the community to the fight against Islamic State. The Iraqi forces responded immediately by deploying a number of troops to surround the building while the others landed on the roof.

At least 23 people were killed and 51 wounded in those blasts.

The IS said in an online statement online that four ISIL fighters set off a auto bomb and launched a suicide attack at the entrance of a mall where many Shiite Muslims gather.

At least seven people were killed when a suicide bomber driving a auto attacked a commercial street in a southeastern Baghdad suburb on Monday, police and medical sources said.

Iraq is one of the most risky countries in the world for journalists, especially those from the country, who are far more exposed to attacks than their foreign counterparts.

“The enemy is diversifying its tactics by attacking civilians like this, especially after the recent victories by our security forces against ISIS in Ramadi”, said Lt. Gen. Abdul Amir al-Shimiri, the head of the Baghdad Operations Command.

Another deadly attack was carried out in the town of Muqdadiyah, about 60 miles (90 kilometers) north of Baghdad in Diyala province. “The perpetrators want to incite sectarian violence, in a desperate attempt to take the country back into the dark days of sectarian strife”, UN Iraq representative Jan Kubis said.

Iraq is going through its worst crisis since the 2011 withdrawal of US troops.

The group has returned to guerrilla warfare in an effort to reassert its dominance after losing control of the capital to Iraqi forces, reports The New York Times.

The attack, which was claimed by the Islamic State group, involved bombings, gunfire and hostage-taking that wreaked havoc in eastern Baghdad. Islamic State still controls much of northern and western Iraq.