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.



UN Chief Slams US-Backed Gaza Aid Operation: ‘It Is Killing People’

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres attends a press briefing during the third United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC3) at the Centre des Expositions conference centre in Nice, France, June 10, 2025. (Reuters)
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres attends a press briefing during the third United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC3) at the Centre des Expositions conference centre in Nice, France, June 10, 2025. (Reuters)
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UN Chief Slams US-Backed Gaza Aid Operation: ‘It Is Killing People’

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres attends a press briefing during the third United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC3) at the Centre des Expositions conference centre in Nice, France, June 10, 2025. (Reuters)
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres attends a press briefing during the third United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC3) at the Centre des Expositions conference centre in Nice, France, June 10, 2025. (Reuters)

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Friday that a US-backed aid operation in Gaza is "inherently unsafe," giving a blunt assessment: "It is killing people."

Israel and the United States want the UN to work through the controversial new Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, but the UN has refused, questioning its neutrality and accusing the distribution model of militarizing aid and forcing displacement.

"Any operation that channels desperate civilians into militarized zones is inherently unsafe. It is killing people," Guterres told reporters.

Guterres said UN-led humanitarian efforts are being "strangled," aid workers themselves are starving and Israel as the occupying power is required to agree to and facilitate aid deliveries into and throughout the Palestinian enclave.

"People are being killed simply trying to feed themselves and their families. The search for food must never be a death sentence," Guterres told reporters.

"It is time to find the political courage for a ceasefire in Gaza."

Since Israel lifted an 11-week aid blockade on Gaza on May 19, allowing limited UN deliveries to resume, the United Nations says more than 400 Palestinians have been killed seeking aid from both the UN and GHF operations. A senior UN official said on Sunday that the majority of those people were trying to reach GHF sites.

Responding to Guterres on Friday, Israel’s Foreign Ministry said Israel’s military never targets civilians and accused the UN of "doing everything it can" to oppose the GHF aid operation.

"In doing so, the UN is aligning itself with Hamas, which is also trying to sabotage the GHF’s humanitarian operations," it posted on X.

A GHF spokesperson said there have been no deaths at or near any of the GHF aid distribution sites.

"It is unfortunate the UN continue to push false information regarding our operations," the GHF spokesperson said. "Bottom line, our aid is getting securely delivered. Instead of bickering and throwing insults from the sidelines, we would welcome the UN and other humanitarian groups to join us and feed the people in Gaza."

GHF uses private US security and logistics firms to operate. It began operations in Gaza on May 26 and said on Friday so far it has given out more than 48 million meals.

The US State Department said on Thursday it had approved $30 million in funding for the GHF and called on other countries to also support the group.

Israel and the United States have accused Hamas of stealing aid from the UN-led operations, which the group denies.