Over dozen dead as bombing rips through wedding in western Iraq

Iraqi security and medical officials say more than a dozen people have lost their lives and scores of others have been injured when a bomb explosion struck a wedding ceremony in the beleaguered western province of Anbar.

Head of the Amiriyah Fallujah Council, Shaker Mahmoud, told Arabic-language al-Sumaria television network that the attack took place in the city, located about 30 kilometers south of Fallujah, on Thursday, when a bomber detonated an explosives-laden vehicle.

He added that 16 people were killed and 45 others injured in the act of terror, noting that there were a number of security personnel among those injured.

Mahmoud said the wounded victims were taken to nearby hospitals to receive medical treatment, while dead bodies were transferred to the city’s department of forensic sciences.

No individual or group has claimed responsibility for the assault yet, but such incidents are usually blamed on the Takfiri Daesh terrorist group, which has been wreaking havoc in Iraq’s northern and western parts since June 2014.

The terrorist attack came only three days after twin bombings left at least 15 people dead in Fallujah. Daesh later claimed it was behind the coordinated attack.

The United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) says a total of 1,792 Iraqis were killed and 1,358 others injured in acts of terrorism, violence and armed conflict in October.

According to the UN mission, the number of civilian fatalities stood at 1,120. Violence also claimed the lives of 672 members of the Iraqi security forces. A great portion of the fatalities was recorded in the capital province of Baghdad, where 268 civilians were killed.

Gruesome violence has plagued the northern and western parts of Iraq ever since Daesh terrorists mounted an offensive there more than two years ago, and took control of portions of Iraqi territory.

Iraqi army soldiers, backed by pro-government fighters from the Popular Mobilization Units and Kurdish Peshmerga forces, launched an operation on October 17 to retake the strategic northern city of Mosul from Daesh terrorists.