BAGHDAD
The death toll has risen to 26 after a car bomb attack shook the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, officials have said.
The suicide attacker drove his bomb-laden vehicle into a checkpoint near Baghdad Gate, killing at least ten people and 50 people were wounded.
No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack and officers said the bodies have not been formally identified.
Medical officials said that the casualty figures are likely to rise.
Since mid-June, fighting in Iraq has been pitting the Iraqi army and Kurdish peshmerga forces against ISIL militants, who have taken control of Mosul, Iraq's second largest city.
ISIL is currently in control of large swathes of territory in Iraq and Syria.
The U.S. is leading an international coalition, which includes France, Germany, and Saudi Arabia, among others, and has carried out numerous airstrikes against ISIL in Iraq and Syria.
According to the UN, an estimated 1.8 million citizens have been internally displaced this year throughout Iraq.
www.aa.com.tr/en
