Three paramilitary personnel killed, five others wounded in western Anbar blast
An IED explosion. File photo.
In remarks on Sunday, Awad al-Jegheifi, a leader with al-Hashd al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilization Forces), said a booby-trapped house in al-Qadisiya in central Rawa, west of Anbar, exploded while troops were entering. Three personnel were killed, while five others were injured.
Troops, according to Jegheifi, cordoned off the blast spot and launched campaigns at neighboring houses fearing further blasts.
Brig. Gen. Yehia Rasool, spokesperson for the Joint Operations Command, announced on Friday, achieving “great victory” in Rawa, after the War Media Cell said operations launched on the dawn of Friday for the “liberation of Rawa”.
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.
The Iraqi capital has seen almost daily bombings and armed attacks against security members, paramilitary troops and civilians since the Iraqi government launched a wide-scale campaign to retake Islamic State-occupied areas in 2016.
The total figure marked a decline from last month’s, which reached more than 500 civilians. The victims went down from 196, while the injured decreased down from 381.