Iraq security forces free hostages in Baghdad

Iraqi security forces have ended a hostage crisis in the capital, Baghdad, after killing four out of the six attackers who had stormed a ministry building.

The assailants burst into the building belonging to the Ministry of Transportation in northeast Baghdad on Thursday and took several people hostage.

Interior Ministry spokesman, Brigadier General Saad Maan, said the four militants were killed during the police raid to release the hostages.

Many people were also injured and the remaining hostages were freed.

Iraqi authorities have put the number of deaths, including the militants, at 18. However, it was not immediately clear who the rest of the fatalities were.

“At the time of the attack, the employees in the building behaved very wisely and shut all their doors. They kept all the employees inside,” Maan said, adding, “The whole operation is now finished, everything is under control.”

Iraqi government forces have been trying to curb a surge in terrorist attacks by an al-Qaeda-linked group, which calls itself the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack on the ministry building.

More than 900 people have been killed in terrorist attacks across Iraq so far this month.

According to the United Nations, at least 8,000 people lost their lives in Iraq in 2013.

In a recent interview, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki accused Saudi Arabia of supporting terrorist groups in his country.

“The current terrorism originates from Saudi Arabia,” Maliki said.