Suicide raid on Iraq gas plant kills at least 14

ISIS launched a coordinated assault on Sunday on a natural gas plant north of Baghdad that killed at least 14 people, according to Iraqi officials.

The attack started at dawn with a suicide car bomber hitting the main gate of the plant in the town of Taji, about 20 km north of Baghdad. Interior ministry spokesman Saad Maan said eight attackers broke into the gas plant at dawn and blew up a car bomb at one of its entrances.

Then the suicide bombers and militants clashed with the security forces, an official said, adding that 27 troops were wounded. A medical official confirmed the casualty figures. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorised to release information.

Some of the attackers detonated suicide belts while others were killed by bullets, according to Mr Maan, who said explosions set fire to three gas tanks.

The ISIS-affiliated Aamaq news agency credited a group of “Caliphate soldiers” for the attack.

In an online statement, the Islamic State group said, “They (the suicide bombers) killed the guards at the gate before raiding the headquarters and killing all inside.”

When additional Iraqi forces massed at the gate for an attack, “our brothers detonated a car bomb in the middle of their gathering,” it went on, saying that the militants clashed with security forces and detonated explosive belts among them

Huge plumes of black smoke billowed into the sky but the fire was quickly brought under control.

In a statement,deputy oil minister Hamid Younis said firefighters managed to control and extinguish a fire caused by the explosions. Mr Younis said technicians were examining the damage.

ISIS extremists still control significant areas in northern and western Iraq, including the second-largest city of Mosul. It has declared an Islamic caliphate on the territory it holds in Iraq and Syria.

The group has recently increased its attacks far from the front lines in a campaign that Iraqi officials say is an attempt to distract from their recent battlefield losses.

Since Wednesday, more than 100 people have been killed in a string of bombings in Baghdad and elsewhere.

“Daesh is turning to targeting civilian facilities in cities after losing the battle on the front,” said Colonel Mohamed al-Bidhani, of the government’s “war media cell”.