IS extremists step up as Iraq, Syria, grapple with virus

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The man wearing an explosive vest emerged from a car and calmly marched toward the gates of the intelligence building in Iraq’s northern city of Kirkuk.

When he ignored their shouts to halt, guards opened fire, and he blew himself up, wounding three security personnel in the first week of Ramazan.

The assaults are the latest in a resurgence of attacks by the Islamic State group in northern Iraq.

The renewed mayhem is a sign that the militant group is taking advantage of governments absorbed in tackling the coronavirus pandemic and the ensuing slide into economic chaos.

Read the full AP report here.

In this July 23, 2019 file photo, security forces detonate an explosive device placed by the Islamic State militants during a search operation in Taramiyah, 50 kilometres north of Baghdad, Iraq. — AP
In this July 23, 2019 file photo, security forces detonate an explosive device placed by the Islamic State militants during a search operation in Taramiyah, 50 kilometres north of Baghdad, Iraq. — AP

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