BAGHDAD: A suicide car bomber driving a military Humvee struck a checkpoint manned by Iraqi troops and pro-government militiamen south of Baghdad on Monday, killing at least 27 people, officials said.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, which took place on the outskirts of the town of Jurf Al-Sakhar, 50 kilometers south of Baghdad, but the bombing bore all the hallmarks of the Islamic State (IS) group.

Meanwhile, the United States led nearly a dozen air strikes against IS militants in Syria and Iraq on Monday, according to the US military.

US forces conducted four strikes in Syria near the town of Kobani near the border with Turkey, hitting five vehicles and one occupied building used by the militant group, US Central Command said in a statement on Monday.

In Iraq, the United States and other partner countries led seven air strikes, including three strikes near the Mosul Dam area that hit a small unit of IS fighters, the statement said.

Other strikes in Iraq hit areas near Fallujah, Bayji and Zumar, Centcom said.




“One airstrike southeast of Fallujah struck a large ISIL unit” as well as a building and vehicle, Centcom said, using another name for Islamic State.

Near Bayji, the strikes hit IS fighters, including one small unit, as well as an improvised explosive device, or IED. Near Zumar, the strikes hit a small IS unit and destroyed two occupied buildings, according to the statement.