DHAKA: A suicide bomber killed at least 27 Shia militiamen on the outskirts of the Iraqi town of Jurf al-Sakhar on Monday after security forces pushed ISIS (Islamic State in Iraq and Syria) militants out of the area over the weekend.

Iraq army and police sources said, reports The Straits Times.

The attacker, driving a Humvee vehicle packed with explosives and likely stolen from defeated government troops, also wounded 60 Shia militiamen, who had helped government forces retake the town just south of the capital.

Holding Jurf al-Sakhar is critical for Iraqi security forces who finally managed to drive out the Sunni insurgents after months of fighting.

It could allow Iraqi forces to prevent the Sunni insurgents from edging closer to the capital Baghdad, sever connections to their strongholds in western Anbar province, and stop them infiltrating the mainly Shia Muslim south.

BDST: 1950 HRS, OCT 27, 2014