Suicide bombers and fighters of the Islamic State (Daesh) attacked targets on Saturday in the northern Iraqi city of Samarra, where the army has been preparing a joint offensive with Shiite militias against the radical militants, Reuters reports.
Security sources and residents said the attack on Samarra was launched at 5:30 am (0230 GMT) when two Daesh suicide bombers blew up their cars in the northern neighborhood of Sur Shnas.
At the same time a man detonated his Humvee near a military checkpoint in the south of the city as fighters attacked security forces to the west with sniper fire, mortars and rocket propelled grenades.
Thousands of Iraqi army troops and fighters from Shiite militias known as Hashid Shaabi (Popular Mobilisation) have recently mobilized around Samarra for a campaign to drive Daesh out of nearby strongholds on the Tigris River, namely the strategic city of Tikrit 50 km (30 miles) to the north.
Casualties from the Samarra attack are not yet known but the local hospital reported receiving the bodies of three Hashid Shaabi fighters in addition to another six wounded individuals.
Residents reported seeing black smoke over parts of the city and hearing powerful explosions, suggesting that fighting was still in progress.
In the town of Ishaaqi, about 20 km (10 miles) southeast of Samarra, Daesh snipers shot dead two Hashid Shaabi men as they tried to set up a sand barrier on the main highway to Baghdad.
