Suicide car bomber hits Iraq checkpoint; many killed

BAGHDAD — A suicide bomber rammed his explosives-laden car into a checkpoint outside a town north of Baghdad on Monday, killing at least 14 people, Iraqi officials said. Monday’s bombing took place at one of the busy entrances to the town of Khalis, about 80 kilometers (50 miles) north of the Iraqi capital, a police officer said. Eight policemen and six civilians were killed and up to 41 people were wounded, the officers said, adding that the explosion also damaged nearly 20 cars lined up at the checkpoint. A medical official confirmed the casualty figures. On Sunday, Daesh claimed responsibility for a suicide attack on a checkpoint in Baghdad that also killed 14 people and wounded 31. The Daesh group still controls significant areas in northern and western Iraq, including the country’s second-largest city of Mosul.