Islamic State Suicide Bomber Kills 27 at Iraqi Checkpoint
Twenty seven Shi'ite fighters were killed by a suicide bomber in the Iraqi town of Jurf al-Sakhar on Monday.
The Islamic State suicide bomber reportedly drove a Humvee loaded with explosives into a checkpoint at the Iraqi border town and then detonated the vehicle, killing 27 and injuring another 60. The attack came after Shi'te militiamen successfully pushed the Islamic State from the town, which serves as an important stronghold as it protects the capital of Baghdad.
The town had been held by the Islamic State since July. After Shi'ite militiamen successfully recaptured the town last week, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said the victory was a "fatal blow" to the Islamic State's power. The town also serves to protect the country's Shi'ite north from the Islamic State fighters, who are of the Sunni sect of Islam.
Despite the recapturing of Jurf al-Sakhar, the Iraqi government and international allies are now turning their attention to Kobani, another important town currently being fought over by Islamic State militants at Shi'ite forces.
Kobani sits on the border of Syria and Turkey and serves as an important access point for supplies and weapons.
Authorities in Iraq and Syria have said that Peshmerga, or armed Kurdish fighters, are supposed to travel to Kobani to help fight the Islamic State, although they reportedly have not arrived in the city yet.
"Until now they have not gone," Sinam Mohammed, a representative for the Syrian Kurdish administration, told Reuters. "They were supposed to go yesterday. They (KRG) says we are ready to send them but I don't know what happened. I think the problem is Turkey."
