Besieged IS mufti blows himself up in northern Baghdad

Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) Islamic State’s legislator (mufti) of the so-called Baghdad State has blown up himself after being besieged by security troops in northern Baghdad, according to the Baghdad Operations Command.

In a statement on Sunday, the command said, “a joint force of the Iraqi army and national security agency besieged the legislator of the IS so-called North Baghdad State in a residential house in Tarmiyah district, north of Baghdad.”

“As the militant was unable to escape the troops, he blew himself up without losses reported,” the statement added.

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.

Bombings and armed attacks are seen on on almost a daily basis against security members, paramilitary groups and civilians since the Iraqi government launched a wide-scale campaign to retake IS-occupied areas in 2016.

Earlier on the day, a fighter from al-Hashd al-Ashaeri (tribal mobilization forces) was reportedly killed in an armed attack in northern Baghdad. Two civilians were wounded in a bomb blast in southern Baghdad.

According to observers, IS is believed to constitute a security threat even after the group’s defeat at its main havens across Iraqi provinces.