Suicide bombers kill three in northern Iraq restaurant

Two suicide bombers killed at least three people and wounded 34 on Tuesday in a northern Iraq restaurant frequented by militiamen battling the Islamic State group, security sources said. The twin bombings came just five days after a gun and bomb attack on a restaurant and nearby checkpoint in southern Iraq killed 84 people, the deadliest assault claimed by the jihadists since their defeat in second city Mosul in July. The bombers struck Tuesday in the town of Hajaj, in Salaheddin province between the cities of Tikrit and Baiji. "Two attackers detonated their explosive belts in a restaurant in Hajaj, killing three people and wounding 34," interior ministry spokesman Saad Maan said in a statement. "A third assailant was shot dead by the security forces." A police lieutenant colonel said the restaurant was frequented by members of the Hashed al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilisation), a paramilitary force mainly composed of Iran-trained militias which has played a major role in the fightback against IS. There was no immediate claim for Tuesday's bombings. Last Thursday's attack in the southern city of Nasiriyah was swiftly claimed by IS.