Dozens of people have been killed in a series of attacks in the northern Iraqi city of Tikrit, according to security sources.

The overnight attacks on Wednesday came after several suspected ISIL fighters infiltrated Tikrit, around 170km north of the capital, Baghdad.

The attackers, who reportedly wore police uniforms and used a police vehicle to enter the city, targeted a security checkpoint and the house of a police colonel, who was killed with four members of his family, according to officers.

Two suicide bombers detonated their vests when surrounded by police, and three others were killed in separate clashes.

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A total of 31 bodies were taken to hospital, including 14 belonging to policemen, Nawfal Mustafa, a doctor at the city's main hospital, told the Reuters news agency.

The death toll rose in the morning as more bodies were found, belonging to civilians killed in their shops.

The violence, which also left at least 42 people wounded, prompted Tikrit authorities to declare a curfew in the city. Sporadic gunfire could still be heard on Wednesday morning.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility but ISIL fighters have carried out similar attacks in Tikrit in the past, in an apparent diversionary tactic as Iraqi forces push ahead with a US-backed offensive to dislodge the group from the remaining districts under its control in Mosul, further north.

ISIL, or the Islamic state of Iraq and the Levant, seized Tikrit during a lightning offensive that overran large areas north and west of Baghdad in the summer of 2014, but Iraqi forces recaptured it the following year.</s>At least 26 people have been killed and 40 wounded in overnight attacks carried out by Islamic state militants in the city of Tikrit, in central Iraq, Reuters reported, citing Iraqi security sources and medics.Tikrit was captured by Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) militants in June 2014. In September 2015, IS blew up the Green Church, one of the oldest Christian churches in the Middle East, as well as Al Arbain, a shrine and historical mosque, which were both located in the city center.In 2015 the Iraqi Army retook Tirkit, but the jihadist fighters have continued to carry out attacks in the city and its outskirts. In March of this year, dozens of people were killed in suicide bomb blasts that went off at a wedding party in a village near the city.</s>At least 31 people were killed, including 14 police officers, and more than 40 wounded in attacks overnight by Islamic State militants in the northern Iraqi city of Tikrit, security and medical sources said on Wednesday.

The militants wore police uniforms and used a police vehicle to enter the city, 175 km (110 miles) north of Baghdad, police colonel Khalid Mahmoud told Reuters. He said there were around 10 attackers, including two suicide bombers.

Islamic State’s Amaq news agency said seven suicide fighters attacked a police position and the home of the head of the city’s counter-terrorism service, who was killed. The assailants blew themselves up when they ran out of ammunition, it said.

A total of 31 bodies were taken to hospital, including 14 policemen, said Nawfal Mustafa, a doctor at the city’s main hospital. The death toll rose during the morning as the bodies of civilians killed in their shops were found.

The attacks targeted a police checkpoint and the house of a police colonel, who was killed with four members of his family, officers said.

Two suicide attackers detonated their vests when surrounded by police, and three others were killed in separate clashes.

Five militants are thought to be hiding and Mahmoud said Tikrit authorities had declared a curfew on Wednesday. Sporadic gunfire could be heard in the morning.

A U.S.-backed offensive is underway to dislodge Islamic State from the remaining districts under its control in Mosul, 225 km away, the group’s last major urban stronghold in Iraq.

The militants overran about a third of Iraq’s territory nearly three years ago, capturing most Sunni Arab cities located north and west of Baghdad, including Tikrit.

Iraqi forces and Iranian-backed Shi’ite militias drove the militants away from Tikrit two years ago. Tikrit is the home region of Saddam Hussein, the former president toppled in the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.</s>TIKRIT, Iraq: At least 26 people were killed, including 14 policemen, and over 40 wounded in attacks overnight by Islamic State militants in the city of Tikrit, north of Baghdad, Iraqi security and medical sources said on Wednesday.</s>TIKRIT, Iraq: At least 26 people were killed, including 14 police officers, and more than 40 wounded in attacks overnight by Islamic State militants in the northern Iraqi city of Tikrit, security and medical sources said on Wednesday.

The militants wore police uniforms and used a police vehicle to enter the city, located 175 km (110 miles) north of Baghdad, police colonel Khalid Mahmoud told Reuters. He said there were around 10 attackers, including two suicide bombers.

A total of 26 bodies were taken to hospital, including 14 belonging to policemen, said Nawfal Mustafa, a doctor at the city's main hospital.

The attacks targeted a police checkpoint and the house of a police colonel, who was killed with four members of his family, officers said.

Two suicide attackers detonated their vests when surrounded by police, and three others were killed in separate clashes.

Five militants are thought to be hiding and Mahmoud said Tikrit authorities had declared a curfew on Wednesday. Sporadic gunfire could be heard in the morning.

The attacks come as a U.S.-backed offensive is underway to dislodge Islamic State from the remaining districts under its control in Mosul, 225 km (140 miles) away, the group's last major urban stronghold in Iraq.

The militants overran about a third of Iraq's territory nearly three years ago, capturing most Sunni Arab cities located north and west of Baghdad, including Tikrit.

Iraqi forces and Iranian-backed Shi'ite militias drove the militants away from Tikrit two years ago. Tikrit is the home region of Saddam Hussein, the former president toppled in the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.</s>At least 26 people have been killed and 40 wounded in an attack by Islamic State (IS) militants in the city of Tikrit, Iraqi security and medical personnel said.

Police Colonel Khalid Mahmud said on April 5 that around 10 militants, including two suicide bombers, entered the city overnight.

The assault targeted a police checkpoint and the house of a police colonel, who was killed with four members of his family, reports said.

Nawfal Mustafa, a doctor at the city's main hospital, said a total of 26 bodies were taken to the hospital, including 14 belonging to police officers.

Sporadic gunfire could reportedly be heard in the morning.

The attack comes as government forces continue an offensive to retake the northern city of Mosul, the last major IS stronghold in Iraq.

Based on reporting by Reuters, AP, and the BBC</s>At least 31 people were killed, including 14 police officers, and more than 40 wounded in attacks overnight by Islamic State militants in the northern Iraqi city of Tikrit, security and medical sources said on Wednesday. The militants wore police uniforms and used a police vehicle to enter the city, 175 km north of Baghdad, police colonel Khalid Mahmoud told Reuters.

Start the conversation, or Read more at Reuters.</s>At least 26 people have been killed and 40 wounded in an attack by Islamic State militants in the Iraqi city of Tikrit, medical sources say.

Start the conversation, or Read more at Newsday.</s>An attack by suicide bombers in the Iraqi city of Tikrit killed at least 31 people and injured at least 42, army and police officers said on Wednesday.

A police lieutenant colonel said the attack began when three militants opened fire in central Tikrit on Tuesday night. They later blew themselves up inside homes in the area.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, but the Islamic State jihadist group carries out frequent suicide bombings targeting Iraqi civilians and security forces.

The Islamic State seized Tikrit during a lightning offensive that overran large areas north and west of Baghdad in the summer of 2014, but Iraqi forces recaptured it the following year.

Iraqi forces are now battling to retake west Mosul — the country's last city in which the jihadists hold significant ground.

But the jihadists still hold other areas in western Iraq and eastern Syria, and they will remain able to carry out deadly bombings even if all areas under their control are recaptured.</s>ISIS infiltrators, wearing police uniforms and driving a police vehicle, infiltrated the Iraqi city of Tikrit overnight, carrying out attacks against a security checkpoint and the home of a police colonel, killing at least 31 people and wounding 42 others, according to hospital officials.

The attackers killed the police colonel and four members of his family in their attack on his home, and overall officials say 14 police were among the slain. Two of the five attackers were surrounded by police at one point and detonated suicide vests in the crowd. The other gunmen were killed in separate clashes.

Though officials have suggested that was likely all of the attackers, they also placed the city under curfew, and locals reported sporadic gunfire well into the morning. ISIS has yet to issue a statement claiming responsibility, though they have attacked Tikrit before.

Such attacks are likely to become more common as ISIS, which once held most of western Iraq, returns to a mostly landless insurgency using more traditional terrorist tactics. The capture of Tikrit by Iraqi forces was one of the first major operations against ISIS in the recent recovery of territory from them.
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According to security sources, dozens of people are killed in an overnight attack in Tikrit by suspected ISIL militants. 31 bodies were taken to a hospital, according to a local doctor, while more continued to be found by morning.