At least eight people were killed Saturday when militants attacked a police checkpoint in Iraq’s Tikrit, the Interior Ministry said.
“A terrorist driving a rigged explosive vehicle detonated the vehicle at the Al-Qaws checkpoint in Tikrit, killing eight people and injuring 13 others (according to) preliminary reports,” Interior Ministry spokesman Saad Maan said in the statement.
A security source provided a higher death toll, saying at least 12 people were killed and 23 were injured when three suicide bombers detonated explosives on vehicles.
The city, which sits about 95 miles (150 kilometers) north of Baghdad, was taken back from ISIS last year.
The Iraqi military meanwhile is preparing to launch an offensive to take back the city of Mosul in the north as early as October, several US officials said.
Government forces have been slowly recapturing towns surrounding Mosul with the support of US airstrikes; most recently, the town of Shirqat.
