The Sayyed Mohammed shrine, located in the Balad area, 70 kilometers (around 45 miles) north of Baghdad, was first targeted with mortar rounds, according to the statement on the attack, which it said it was carried out by the ISIL group.
The Thursday night attack follows the truck bombing of a shopping district in the capital, Baghdad, on Sunday, in which at least 292 people died. The area was crowded with Muslims shopping to celebrate the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, in the worst attack the capital has seen in years.
In Thursday's attack, ISIS (Islamic State, ISIS , ISIL , IS and Daesh) initially launched several mortar rounds landing in the area near the mausoleum in the town of Balad, an Iraqi Joint Operations Command statement said. Video footage showed large explosions at the site.
Three men wearing suicide vests then tried to storm the shrine, before security forces opened fire. Two of them blew themselves up at a shopping area near the shrine and the third was killed by security personnel.
Amid growing public anger over the truck bombing, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi fired the three top security officials in Baghdad on Friday.
They were the head of Baghdad's security command, the head of interior ministry intelligence for Baghdad and the official responsible for Baghdad in the national security adviser's office.
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