VIDEO: 18 People Killed in Islamic State Terrorists’ Attack in North of Iraq’s Tikrit

It was the first such assault since Tikrit, 150 km north of Baghdad, was retaken from the ultra-hardline jihadist group in April 2015.

One militant was killed at the checkpoint after shooting dead five security personnel and two young civilian bystanders at around 5am, according to police and sources from Salahuddin Operations Command, which is responsible for security in the area.

Two other militants continued on about 7 km to the city limits where one of them detonated the explosives in his pickup truck and the other set off an explosives-filled vest, the sources said.

The blasts killed 11 people, including three members of a Shia militia working alongside the security forces, and wounded 21.

Leading Shia politician Hakim al-Zamili, whose convoy escaped the attack said Islamic State (ISIS / Daesh / ISIL) ‘cannot intimidate Iraqi people’ and security forces by suicide car and bomb attacks.

Police tightened security following the attacks in the city, which already had some of the most restrictive measures in place following its recapture from Islamic State (ISIS / Daesh / ISIL).