Coordinated attacks killed 220 Iraqis and injured at least 400 in a northwestern town late Tuesday, security forces informed on Wednesday.

A series of car bombs riped through two crowded areas in Sinjar (Ninawa province), destroying dozens of houses. Two trucks packed with explosives were detonated in a densely populated region of Sinjar, two other vehicles exploding in another area of the town located 120 kilometers north-west of the province’s capital Mosul.

Shortly after the bombings, the same areas were reportedly targeted by mortar fire by unknown assailants. Police is investigating whether the three blasts were caused by suicide attacks or the explosive devices were detonated by remote control.
 
Meanwhile, rescue teams are searching through collapsed buildings for survivors, reports saying about 15,000 were living in the area. Most of the victims are Yazidis that are living in Mosul and adjacent settlements. The Yazidi religion is one of the oldest in history and its followers have been targeted many times by extremists.

Tuesday’s attacks were among the bloodiest in Iraq and prompted authorities to impose a curfew in the town. The death toll is expected to rise due to the multitude of destroyed buildings, authorities raising the number of fatalities several times since Tuesday.

Many people injured by the explosions are in critical condition at nearby hospitals, the medical facilities in Sinjar being quickly overcrowded.

In other incidents, the US army reported the death of five soldiers on Wednesday. The troopers died in the western Al Anbar province on Tuesday when a helicopter crashed near a military base.

According to the report, the CH-47 Chinook aircraft crashed during a routine flight and wasn’t involved in combat missions.