UPDATE - Car bomb in Tikrit, Iraq leaves 5 dead

UPDATES CASUALTIES; MODIFIES HEADLINE, DECK AND LEDE

By Mazin Majeed and Asaad Baqal

TIKRIT, Iraq (AA) - At least five people were killed and 16 others were injured on Sunday by a car bomb attack in Tikrit, Iraq, northwest of Baghdad, according to the country’s defense ministry.

Police 1st Lt. Numan al-Jabouri told Anadolu Agency that the bomb had gone off in a neighborhood in the center of the town, which is the capital of Iraq’s northern Salahuddin province.

He went on to say that the remnants of the Daesh terrorist group -- which overran much of Iraq in 2014 before being crushed by the army last year -- were likely behind Sunday’s attack, though none had assumed responsibility.

Recent months have seen frequent attacks on security personnel deployed in northern and eastern Iraq, especially in the provinces of Diyala, Kirkuk, and Saladin.

Last year, Iraqi officials declared that Daesh's military presence in the country had been all but destroyed following a three-year conflict with the army.

Nevertheless, Iraqi security forces continue to carry out frequent operations aimed at eliminating the group’s lingering presence in certain parts of the country.