Iraqi Official: ISIS Attack on Intelligence Bureau Wounds 3 Security Personnel

Iraqi soldiers and a US army soldier, part of the Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF-OIR) the US-led coalition against the Islamic State (IS) group, walk around at the K1 Air Base northwest of Kirkuk in northern Iraq before a planned US pullout on March 29, 2020. (Photo by AHMAD AL-RUBAYE / AFP)
Iraqi soldiers and a US army soldier, part of the Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF-OIR) the US-led coalition against the Islamic State (IS) group, walk around at the K1 Air Base northwest of Kirkuk in northern Iraq before a planned US pullout on March 29, 2020. (Photo by AHMAD AL-RUBAYE / AFP)
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Iraqi Official: ISIS Attack on Intelligence Bureau Wounds 3 Security Personnel

Iraqi soldiers and a US army soldier, part of the Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF-OIR) the US-led coalition against the Islamic State (IS) group, walk around at the K1 Air Base northwest of Kirkuk in northern Iraq before a planned US pullout on March 29, 2020. (Photo by AHMAD AL-RUBAYE / AFP)
Iraqi soldiers and a US army soldier, part of the Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF-OIR) the US-led coalition against the Islamic State (IS) group, walk around at the K1 Air Base northwest of Kirkuk in northern Iraq before a planned US pullout on March 29, 2020. (Photo by AHMAD AL-RUBAYE / AFP)

Iraqi officials said militants wearing a suicide vest struck an intelligence bureau in northern Iraq on Tuesday, blaming the attack on the ISIS terrorist group.

The attack wounded at least three members of Iraq's security personnel.

A senior Iraqi intelligence official told The Associated Press (AP) that the department “had knowledge that ISIS would carry out a suicide operation against the Intelligence Directorate, but we did not know on which day."

Iraqi security forces had spotted two men, one wearing an explosive vest and a driver, approaching the gate of the Intelligence and Counter-Terrorism Directorate in the Qadisiyah neighborhood in the northern city of Kirkuk, a security official said.

The man hurled a grenade and then detonated his explosives vest before entering the premises, according to the official, noting that the other man, apparently the driver, sped away from the the scene.

ISIS did not claim responsibility for the attack.

The security official and the senior intelligence official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.

The attack was the first attempted suicide bombing in recent months, coming amid minor ISIS attacks in the provinces of Kirkuk, Diyala and Salahaddin.

According to AP, the US-led coalition recently withdrew troops from its bases in the region, including in Kirkuk, in line with a planned drawdown of forces that would reduce the coalition's presence to bases in Baghdad and the western Anbar province.



Almost Half of Attacks on Heath Care in Lebanon Have Been Deadly, WHO Says

Smoke rises as a result of an Israeli airstrike on the village of Al-Khiyam in southern Lebanon, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, northern Israel, 22 November 2024, amid cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel. (EPA)
Smoke rises as a result of an Israeli airstrike on the village of Al-Khiyam in southern Lebanon, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, northern Israel, 22 November 2024, amid cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel. (EPA)
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Almost Half of Attacks on Heath Care in Lebanon Have Been Deadly, WHO Says

Smoke rises as a result of an Israeli airstrike on the village of Al-Khiyam in southern Lebanon, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, northern Israel, 22 November 2024, amid cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel. (EPA)
Smoke rises as a result of an Israeli airstrike on the village of Al-Khiyam in southern Lebanon, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, northern Israel, 22 November 2024, amid cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel. (EPA)

The World Health Organization says nearly half of the attacks on health care in Lebanon have been deadly since the Middle East conflict erupted in October last year, the highest such rate anywhere in the world.

The UN health agency says 65 out of 137, or 47%, of recorded “attacks on health care” in Lebanon over that time period have proven fatal to at least one person, and often many more.

WHO’s running global tally counts attacks, whether deliberate or not, that affect places like hospitals, clinics, medical transport, and warehouses for medical supplies, as well as medics, doctors, nurses and the patients they treat.

Nearly half of attacks on health care in Lebanon since last October and the majority of deaths occurred since an intensified Israeli military campaign began against Hezbollah in the country two months ago.

The health agency said 226 health workers and patients have been killed and 199 injured in Lebanon between Oct. 7, 2023 and this Monday.