A suicide attack in the Taji area, north of the Iraqi capital, killed at least seven people and wounded 17 on Thursday, security and medical officials said.

A suicide attack in the Taji area, north of the Iraqi capital, killed at least seven people and wounded 17 on Thursday, security and medical officials said.

It was not immediately clear if the target was the area's sprawling military base or an entrance to Taji itself, and the number of suicide bombers was unknown.

US military trainers are based at Taji, helping to instruct some 1,600 Iraqi soldiers in a six-week program aimed at readying them to face the Takfiri group operating in Iraq and Syria, ISIL.

There was no immediate claim for the attack, but suicide bombings are a tactic almost exclusively employed by Takfiri groups in Iraq, including ISIL.

ISIL launched a June offensive that overran several areas in Iraq. However the Iraqi army, backed by the popular mobilization forces, has been for few months regaining control of many of these areas.