Press TV- At least seven Iraqi police officers have been killed when militants detonated their explosive belts in two police stations in the holy city of Samarra.  

According to security sources on Monday, clashes are currently underway at both of the police stations in the central Iraqi city.

Iraqi interior ministry spokesman Saad Maan said, “There was a terror attack on Mutawakil police station, now the Iraqi forces are besieging them."

Daesh has claimed responsibility for the Mutawakil attack via the Amaq news agency, which is affiliated to the terrorist group.

A local police official said that so far five of the attackers wearing explosive belts have been killed, and that reinforcements are being deployed.

Daesh has also claimed responsibility for a similar attack in the city in November when five terrorists killed four police officers after entering Samarra.



[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="555"] Iraqis inspect a charred vehicle on the site of a bomb attack in Sadr City, a majority Shia neighborhood in the northeast of the capital Baghdad, on January 2, 2017. (Photo by AFP)[/caption]

Earlier on Monday, at least 39 people were killed and 57 more injured after a terrorist car bomb attack rocked a busy square in Sadr City, a Shia-populated suburban district of Baghdad.

Reports said that an explosive-laden truck was detonated in an outdoor market, hitting day laborers and a nearby police checkpoint.

Gruesome violence has plagued parts of Iraq ever since Daesh terrorists mounted an offensive and took control of portions of the Iraqi territory more than two years ago.

Iraqi army troops and allied fighters are currently engaged in an operation to recapture Mosul, the last Daesh stronghold in the country.