Gunmen kill 11 in roadside attack in eastern Iraq

Eleven civilians have been killed and others wounded in a bomb and gun attack by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL or ISIS) in eastern Iraq, according to security officials.

Eleven civilians have been killed and others wounded in a bomb and gun attack by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL or ISIS) in eastern Iraq, according to security officials.

The attack took place in Muqdadiyah in Diyala province, about 100km (62 miles) from the capital Bagdad, on Thursday night. Sporadic violence by ISIL cells continues in the far eastern region, despite the group having been largely wiped out.

A roadside bomb exploded and gunmen then opened fire on rescuers and bystanders, security officials told the Associated Press.

Security sources told the Reuters news agency that the attack targeted relatives of a local MP and two bombs destroyed a vehicle in which several people were travelling. Locals who arrived at the scene to help were then targeted with sniper fire, the sources said. At least a dozen people were reported injured.

A source at the Iraqi Ministry of Interior told the AFP news agency that the vehicle was a minibus and was targeted “by two homemade bombs on its return from an electoral meeting”.

The gunmen fled the scene. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.