Iraqi security officers wounded as suicide bomber shot in Kirkuk

The suicide bomber was killed outside the National Security building

An explosion occurred outside the National Security building in Kirkuk after security forces shot dead a would-be suicide bomber. Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Iraqi security forces on Thursday thwarted a suicide bombing attack outside the National Security building in the northern city of Kirkuk. 

Iraqi security forces killed the would-be suicide bomber, but the explosive belt he was wearing was detonated by the bullets fired at the man and wounded two security officers, a security source told The National.

"A suicide bomber tried to blow himself up in the National Security building in the Qurayyah area in the city of Kirkuk, but the guards shot him," Col Yusef Saleh, director of Domiz police station in Kirkuk, told the Rudaw media network.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attempted attack.

Bombings in Iraq, once a near-daily occurrence, became rare events after ISIS was defeated in 2017.

The extremist group also claimed a January attack on a crowded market that killed 32 people. It was the deadliest attack in Iraq in nearly three years.

Despite ISIS being significantly weakened, the group maintains sleeper cells in Iraq.

In recent months, the Iraqi Counter-Terrorism Service and other security forces launched a series of military operations in remote areas, mainly in northern Iraq, to hunt down ISIS militants.

The recent attacks come at a sensitive time. National elections are planned for October and Washington said it will remove US combat forces from Iraq, but some troops could remain in an advisory capacity.