ISIS claims more Iraq attacks, killing 20 at coffee shop, checkpoint
Three militants gunned down coffee shop patrons in central Iraq on Friday morning before blowing up themselves and security personnel, killing at least 20 people, officials said. They are the latest deadly attacks claimed by ISIS in the country.
Counting Friday's carnage in Balad, a Shiite-majority city 80 kilometers (50 miles) north of Baghdad, attacks claimed by the Sunni terror group ISIS have left more than 110 people dead in the last three days.
In Friday's first attack, gunmen stormed al-Furat coffee shop in Balad, shooting and killing at least 13 people and injuring 22 others, Iraqi police said. The coffee shop is a gathering place for Iraqi supporters of the Real Madrid football club.
"The club expresses its great sadness and offers its regards and condolences to the families and friends of the victims," Real Madrid said in a statement.
The club added that its players would wear black armbands on Saturday "as a sign of their mourning and respect. Football and sport shall always be spaces in which to come together and in which harmony and peace reign and with which no form of barbaric terrorism will be able to compete."
Security forces set up checkpoints in the area, but the gunmen weren't immediately found.
Two hours later, three men wearing explosive vests -- believed to be the coffee-shop attackers -- engaged in a gunfight with security personnel at a major checkpoint in the city, police said.
All three attackers eventually blew themselves up at the checkpoint. The gun battle and explosions left seven police officers dead and 12 others injured, security officials said.
ISIS claimed responsibility for the attacks, in a statement posted by its supporters.
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