12 killed as Islamic State militants attack natural gas plant near Baghdad

Islamic State militants have attacked a state-run natural gas plant outside Baghdad, killing at least 12 people, officials said.

Police said the assault started at dawn with a suicide car bomber hitting the main gate of the plant in the town of Taji, about 12 miles north of the Iraqi capital.

Then several suicide bombers and militants broke into the plant and clashed with security forces.

Police said 25 troops were wounded. A medical official confirmed the casualty figures.

A report by the IS-affiliated Aamaq news agency credited a group of "caliphate soldiers" for the attack.

IS extremists still control significant areas in northern and western Iraq, including the second-largest city of Mosul. It has declared an Islamic caliphate in the territory it holds in Iraq and Syria.

The group has recently increased its attacks far from the front lines in a campaign Iraqi officials say is an attempt to distract from recent battlefield losses.

Since Wednesday, more than 100 people have been killed in a string of bombings in Baghdad and elsewhere.