Five people killed, injured as Islamic State launches attack, west of Kirkuk

Kirkuk (IraqiNews.com) Five people were killed and injured as Islamic State members attacked a village, west of Kirkuk, a security source from the province said on Monday.

“IS members set up an ambush near al-Heleiwat village in al-Zab town, west of Kirkuk, killing two villagers and wounding three others,” the source told Alghad Press.

“As the people heard the shooting, they headed to the accident place. They managed to transfer the victims and the injured to Kirkuk Public Hospital,” he added. “The militants, who set up the ambush, ran away.”

On Sunday, five civilians, including a woman, were killed in an armed attack, believed to be carried out by IS members against a village in al-Riyad town in Hawija.

A total of 91 Iraqi civilians were killed and 208 others were injured in acts of terrorism, violence and armed conflict in February, according to the monthly report issued by the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI).

Baghdad was the worst affected Governorate, with 195 civilian casualties (49 killed, 146 injured). Anbar Governorate ranked second place, with 14 killed and 37 injured, and Diyala had 12 killed and 11 injured.

As many as 3,298 civilians were killed and 4,781 others were wounded in 2017, excluding Anbar civilian casualty figures for November and December, which are not available, UNAMI said in a report in December.