Triple suicide bombing in Iraq kills at least 58

A woman reacts to the carnage at the site of a car bomb attack in the Shula neighborhood of Baghdad, Iraq, Sunday, Oct. 12, 2014. A series of car bomb attacks in Iraq's capital killed and wounded dozens of people in Shiite areas Saturday, authorities said. less A woman reacts to the carnage at the site of a car bomb attack in the Shula neighborhood of Baghdad, Iraq, Sunday, Oct. 12, 2014. A series of car bomb attacks in Iraq's capital killed and wounded dozens of ... more Photo: Karim Kadim, AP Photo: Karim Kadim, AP Image 1 of / 5 Caption Close Triple suicide bombing in Iraq kills at least 58 1 / 5 Back to Gallery

BAGHDAD — A triple suicide bombing Sunday killed at least 58 people in Iraq as a roadside bomb killed the police chief of the western Anbar province, authorities said, attacks that dealt major blows to Iraqi security forces struggling to combat the Islamic State extremist group.

The triple attack took place in Qara Tappah in ethnically mixed Diyala province, an official from the Kurdish Asayish security forces said. He said the first bomber detonated an explosives vest at the gateway to a security compound that also houses the office of a main Kurdish political party. Minutes later, two suicide bombers plowed cars filled with explosives into the compound, causing heavy damage, he said.

The Islamic State extremist group claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it was carried out by three foreign jihadists. The authenticity of the online statement could not be independently verified, but it was posted on a Twitter account frequently used by the militant group.

The group has seized towns in volatile Diyala province and has clashed with Kurdish forces there.

Bashir al-Dalawi, a member of the Qara Tappah municipal council, where the attacks took place, said that the bombs detonated near a government building, leading to the higher death toll. He says at least 107 people were wounded.

In the Anbar attack, Brig. Gen. Ahmed al-Dulaimi was killed while traveling in a convoy north of the provincial capital Ramadi through an area cleared by Iraqi security forces a day earlier, Anbar councilman Faleh al-Issawi said.