BAGHDAD, Jan. 23 (Xinhua) -- At least a policeman was killed and three others wounded in a suicide car bomb attack in Iraq's northern province of Kirkuk on Wednesday, a provincial police source said.
The attack took place in the afternoon when a suicide bomber drove his explosive-laden car into a federal police checkpoint near the town of al-Riyadh in the south of the provincial capital Kirkuk, some 250 km north of the national capital Baghdad, Saad al-Obeidi told Xinhua.
The toll could rise as ambulances and police vehicles evacuated the killed and wounded to the town hospital, while the security forces cordoned off the area, al-Obeidi said.
No group has so far claimed responsibility for the attack, but the Islamic State (IS) militant group, in most cases, has been responsible for such suicide attacks targeting security forces and areas where crowds of people gather, including markets, cafes and mosques.
The security situation in Iraq has been dramatically improved after security forces fully defeated the extremist IS militants across the country late in 2017.
However, IS remnants have since regrouped in deserts and rugged areas, carrying out attacks against security forces and civilians despite the military operations from time to time to hunt them down.
