Samarra in central Iraq, 125 km (80 miles) north of Baghdad, is home to a significant Shi’a Muslim shrine and has been under attack since the ISIS militants swept through most areas north of the capital in June.
The three bombs before sunrise on Thursday martyred a civilian and two policemen as well as wounding dozens of others, and were followed by a hail of rocket and mortar fire, the official said.
No group has claimed responsibility for the bombings so far. However, Iraqi officials blame the recent bout of violence on the ISIL Takfiri terrorists.
Then, after several hours of fighting with security forces, extremist militants retreated under fire from Iraqi warplanes, he said.
The ninth century al-Askari shrine in Samarra was blown up by Takfiri militants in February 2006.
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