South Baghdad truck bombing leaves at least 17 dead, dozens injured

MOSCOW. KAZINFORM A suicide truck bomb detonated Wednesday at a checkpoint near Iraq's capital city, Sputniknews reported.

According to hospital and security officials, some of the vehicles waiting to be searched near the truck caught fire after the bomb exploded. The truck is said to have been an oil tanker filled with explosives. A number of police officers were among the 60 people injured in the blastю

Though no group has claimed responsibility for the attack, the bombing comes as about 2,000 Daesh extremists battle with Iraqi forces in western Mosul, a former stronghold for the militants.

The chief of Iraq's Federal Police recently announced that 90 percent of Mosul's Old City had been retaken by Iraqi forces.

Photo: © AFP 2017/ BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI