Army commander killed, four personnel wounded in bomb blast in Anbar

Anbar (IraqiNews.com) Iraqi army commander was killed, while four others were wounded in a bomb blast in west of Anbar, a military source said.

Speaking to AlSumaria News on Saturday, the source said “a bomb from Islamic State’s war remnants exploded targeting a military vehicle boarded by Col. Maher Tawfiq, telecommunications commander of the seventh division, and some of his guards on the road between Qaim town and phosphate factory.”

“The blast left the commander killed and four personnel wounded,” the source, who preferred anonymity, added.

Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi announced on Friday liberation of Qaim in record time.

Violence in the country has surged further with the emergence of Islamic State Sunni extremist militants who proclaimed an “Islamic Caliphate” in Iraq and Syria in 2014.

114 Iraqi civilians were killed, while 244 others were wounded as result of terrorism, violence and armed conflicts, according to a monthly release by the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), issued on Wednesday.

Baghdad was the worst affected Governorate, coming in the first place with 177 civilian casualties (38 killed, 139 injured). Anbar province followed with 36 killed and 55 injured, and then Kirkuk with 18 killed and 33 injured.