for all the attacks

Militants from the Islamic State have claimed

On Saturday at least 45 people were killed during three car bombings and a suicide blast in Shia

Attack took place as 58 people died in a

A wave of suicide bombings carried out by Islamic State militants inside Iraq has left scores of people dead, including a police chief responsible for organizing tribal opposition to the terror group.

Brigadier General Ahmed al-Dulaimi was killed by a road bomb while traveling in a convoy near Ramadi in the western Anbar province yesterday in an attack that dealt a major blow to Iraqi security forces struggling to combat ISIS extremists.

His death occurred as a triple suicide bombing in Qara Tappah in eastern Iraq 58 people, while three car bombs and a suicide blast in the capital Baghdad left a further 45 people dead on Saturday.

Destroyed: A man looks at the site of twin car bomb blasts in the Shula neighborhood of Baghdad. 23 people died here yesterday, while attacks elsewhere in the city left a further 23 people dead

Fear: Women look at vehicles destroyed in two car bomb attacks in the Shaoula neighbourhood of Baghdad

Yesterday's triple suicide bombing 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.

The Islamic State extremist group claimed 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.

Hospital officials confirmed the casualties. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

Location: A wave of suicide bombings carried out by Islamic State militants in Iraq left scores of people dead over the weekend. The attacks dealt a major blow to Iraqi security forces struggling to combat ISIS extremists

Carnage: A woman walks past the site of Saturday's car bomb attack in the Shula neighborhood of Baghdad

Remains: Cars destroyed by Saturday's attacks in Baghdad are seen abandoned by the side of the road

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 attack, adding that some of the wounded were sent to hospital in the Kurdish self-ruled region for treatment.

Meanwhile in Anbar, police chief al-Dulaimi was killed while traveling in a convoy north of the provincial capital Ramadi through an area cleared by Iraqi security forces just one day earlier.

Anbar councilman Faleh al-Issawi said. It was not immediately clear if others were killed or wounded.

ISIS and their Sunni allies seized the Anbar city of Fallujah, parts of Ramadi and large rural areas of Anbar early this year.

The loss of Fallujah - where American troops engaged in some of the heaviest fighting of the eight-year U.S.-led war in the country - foreshadowed the later loss of Mosul and much of northern Iraq.

Wreckage: A woman walks past destroyed cars following Saturday's bomb blasts in Baghdad

Tears: Mourners carry the coffins of relatives who were killed in Saturday's car bomb attack in Baghdad's Shaoula district. 23 people died in the neighbourhood, with a further 22 killed elsewhere in the capital

Grief: Mourners carry the coffins of relatives who were killed in Saturday's car bomb attack in Baghdad

Iraq's Interior Ministry confirmed al-Dulaimi's death, calling him a 'hero who set a good example for self-sacrifice.'

It praised his role in reorganizing the provincial police force and leading major fighting that caused heavy casualties among the militants.

The attack in Anbar followed a bloody day in the capital, Baghdad, where a series of car bomb attacks killed at least 45 people in Shiite-majority areas.

The Islamic State group also claimed responsibility for those attacks.

On Saturday the U.S. military said it launched airstrikes north and west of Baghdad, hitting a small Islamic State fighting unit and destroying armed vehicles.The UK participated in the airstrikes.

Suicide bombers kill three in Afghanistan

A suicide bomber has targeted a NATO convoy in Kabul, killing one civilian, while another struck an Afghan army patrol in the eastern Nangarhar province, killing two civilians, Afghan officials said.

Deputy Interior Minister Gen. Ayub Salangi confirmed the attack in the capital, saying one civilian was killed and three others were wounded.

NATO said one of its vehicles was attacked in Kabul, adding that there were no immediate reports of any casualties among members of the military coalition.

Taliban insurgents claimed responsibility for the attack in an emailed statement.

A suicide bomber targeted a NATO convoy in Afghanistan's capital Kabul this morning killing an Afghan civilian

British NATO soldiers and Afghan security forces investigate the scene of the suicide car bomb attack in Kabul

A U.S. soldier keeps watch at the site of a suicide attack in Kabul this morning

Investigation: Taliban insurgents have stepped up attacks against Afghan security forces in a bid to undermine the Western-backed government

In a separate incident, two Afghan civilians were killed and six others were wounded when a suicide bomber targeted an Afghan army patrol in the Nangarhar province, the Afghan Interior Ministry said in a statement.

The Defense Ministry said in a statement that an Afghan army officer was wounded and two army vehicles were damaged in the bombing. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.

Taliban insurgents have stepped up attacks against Afghan security forces in a bid to undermine the Western-backed government as foreign combat troops prepare to withdraw from Afghanistan by the end of the year.