Islamic State attacks gas plant north of Baghdad

At least 14 people were killed Sunday in an assault on a gas plant north of Baghdad, the latest in a string of attacks for which the Islamic State has claimed responsibility.

The attack on the state-owned plant at Taji, located approximately 12 miles north of Baghdad, left at least 27 people wounded and cut off service to two power plants that supply Baghdad’s power grid.

It began when a bomb was detonated near the entrance of the plant. Then, eight suicide bombers entered the premises and clashed with guards there before setting off more bombs. Three of the plant’s large gas tanks caught on fire during the attack.

Sunday marks the fifth day of heightened violence in the region, where multiple Islamic State attacks have killed more than 140 people this week.

Several other attacks on Sunday brought the day’s death toll to at least 29. A car bomb that exploded in Latifiyah, 20 miles south of Baghdad, killed seven people and wounded 18, while three bombs that exploded in Baghdad’s commercial areas killed eight people and wounded 28, the Associated Press reported.

On Wednesday, three car bomb explosions killed 93 people in one of Baghdad’s most deadly days in recent months. The following day, the extremist group killed 17 Iraqi soldiers and two others in suicide bombings in Abu Ghraib, Reuters reported.

On Friday, an attack killed 12 people at a coffee shop in Balad, and six others were killed on Saturday.