Schoolchildren killed in bomb blast near Mosul

Schoolchildren killed in bomb blast near Mosul
A roadside bomb exploded near Iraq's second city, killing at least three schoolchildren and injuring several others.
1 min read
22 November, 2018
Mosul is still rebuilding after the two-year battle against Islamic State militants [File photo: Getty]
A roadside bomb killed at least three schoolchildren and six people near Iraq's second city Mosul on Thursday, according to police and medical sources.

Police said the bomb exploded near a bus carrying high school students in the Shura area to the south of Mosul.

The city is rebuilding after it was liberated from Islamic State militants by Iraqi forces backed by a US-led coalition last year. The two-year battle to oust the jihadists led to the destruction of the city and the displacement of hundreds of thousands of Iraqis.

Despite the IS defeat, Mosul has suffered several bomb blasts in recent months, with one market car bombing in October leaving seven people dead.

Baghdad security officials have accused Islamic State "sleeper cells" of carrying out insurgent-style attacks in and around the northern city, having lost large swathes of territory it captured when it overran parts of Iraq and Syria in 2014 and proclaimed a "caliphate".

The group's fighters have waged a campaign of kidnappings, killings and bomb attacks targeting civilians and security forces.

The Iraq Report is a weekly feature at The New Arab.

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