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Baghdad / AFP
Suicide attackers broke into a gas plant north of Baghdad on Sunday, killing at least seven people and setting fire to gas tanks, officials said.
The attack on the Taji plant, about 20 kilometres (12 miles) north of the capital, took place at around 6 am (0300 GMT).
Eight suicide bombers broke into the gas plant and blew up a car bomb at one of its entrances, interior ministry spokesman Saad Maan said in a statement.
Some of the attackers detonated suicide belts while others were killed by bullets, according to Maan, who said explosions set fire to three gas tanks.
Footage showed huge plumes of black smoke billowing into the sky but the Joint Operations Command said the fire had been brought under control. The attack killed at least seven people and wounded at least 22, according to security and medical officials. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack but it bore the hallmarks of an operation by the IS group. The extremist organisation has been steadily losing ground to the Iraqi security forces in recent months.