DHAKA: At least 38 people were killed and 56 people hurts as a suicide bomber has attacked Sunni fighters in Madain, a town roughly 20 kilometers southeast of Baghdad on Wednesday.

The bomber attacked on the members of the Sahwa (Awakening) movement while they gathered to receive salaries in the area, reports the Al-Jazeera.

The Sahwa date back to the height of the US-led war in Iraq in 2000s. Sunni tribesmen joined forces with the Americans to battle fighters including ISIL’s predecessor organization, the Islamic State of Iraq.

The Sahwa were the key to sharply reducing violence, but when Iraq's government took over responsibility for their salaries they were sometimes paid late or not at all.

Sunni fighters, including the Sahwa and other armed tribesmen, fight against ISIL too.

The Iraqi government has distributed arms and ammunition to tribesmen, and Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi aims to establish a national guard made up of local fighters, though the necessary law has yet to pass parliament.

BDST: 1704 HRS, DEC 24, 2014