New Delhi:
A suicide bomber detonated an explosives-rigged vehicle at a checkpoint south of Baghdad on Saturday, killing at least seven security forces members, security and medical officials said.
There was no immediate claim for the attack in Yusufiyah, which also wounded 23 people, but suicide bombings are a hallmark of Sunni extremists, including those from powerful jihadist group the Islamic State (IS).
Security forces and allied Shiite militiamen are battling militants in several areas south of the capital, the southern front in the fight to regain ground lost to an IS-led offensive that overran large areas of Iraq in June.
While the militants' relentless advance has since been checked, Iraqi forces are struggling to push them back, and there is no resolution to the crisis in sight.