A suicide bomber detonated a car bomb at a gathering of Iraqi Sunni tribal leaders, killing 14 people in an attack claimed Wednesday by ISIL group, police said.

A suicide bomber detonated a car bomb at a gathering of Iraqi Sunni tribal leaders, killing 14 people in an attack claimed Wednesday by ISIL  group, police said.

"Fourteen people were killed and at least 24 wounded," a police captain said of the Tuesday night bombing in the Baladruz area of Diyala province, north of Baghdad.

A medical source at the Baladruz hospital confirmed the toll.

The bomber struck "a gathering of notables and figures, most of them from the Al-Nida tribe," the officer said.

An army colonel said that the Al-Nida -- a major Sunni tribe in Diyala province -- had supported the Iraqi army against ISIL terrorists.

ISIL claimed the suicide bombing in an online statement Wednesday, noting that a Tajik terrorist carried out the attack.

The terrorist group of ISIL does not hesitate to attack all who oppose its schemes, including the Sunnis who oppose it.

Iraq announced in January that Iraqi forces had "liberated" Diyala, significant parts of which had been overrun by ISIL after the terrorists launched a brutally effective offensive last June.

But even if ISIL no longer fully controls towns in Diyala, terrorists can still carry out deadly bombings in the province, as they have for years.