Soldier dies defusing an explosive device west of Ramadi
An expert while trying to dismantle an IED.
Ramadi (IraqiNews.com) An Iraqi soldier died on Sunday while trying to deactivate an explosive device west of the city of Ramadi, according to a security source.
Almaalomah website quoted the source at anbar Operations service saying that an improvised bomb planted near a main road in Maqalea, Baghdadi region, west of Ramadi, exploded when a bomb squad member tried to defuse it.
Several civilians and security personnel have died over the past months when unexploded bombs planted by Islamic State militants went off in regions recaptured by government forces since 2014.
Violence and armed conflicts left more than 290 Iraqis dead and wounded during the month of August, according to a monthly casualty count conducted by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI) which excluded security members.
Islamic State members are still holding the towns of Annah, Rawa and Qaim, west of Anbar, since 2014, when they proclaimed an Islamic “caliphate” on a third of Iraq and Syria. Iraqi commanders have said preparations were underway for military offensives targeting the recapture of those regions. So far, Iraqi forces recaptured the Islamic State’s former capital, Mosul, and the town of Tal Afar, their bastion in western Nineveh.