Suicide bomber strikes military base in Iraq's Kirkuk; 1 killed

A car bomb killed one soldier and injured at least two in a northern Iraqi town near the oil-rich city of Kirkuk on Wednesday, the military and a security source said. The military said in a statement that a member of the security forces was killed. A security source told Reuters that at least two others were wounded.

A suicide bomber drove the rigged car into a security checkpoint at the entrance of the town of Riyadh, 40 kilometres (25 miles) southwest of Kirkuk, the military said. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack but Islamic State militants are active in the area.

Iraq declared victory over Islamic State in December 2017 after two years of fighting. However, the group has continued to carry out insurgent-style attacks on security forces across the country. There have been at least two other car bomb attacks in January so far.

(With inputs from agencies.)