Bomb attack leaves Iraqi border guard killed in Diyala
Iraqi security forces arrest a suspected member of the Islamic State group
Diyala (Iraqinews.com) – An Iraqi border guard was killed Sunday in a bomb blast in Diyala, the latest in a series of terrorist attacks that target Iraqi security forces and citizens on almost a daily basis, a local source was quoted as saying.
“An explosive charge went off early Sunday on the outskirts of Khanaqin city, 100 km northeast of Baqubah, leaving an Iraqi border guard dead,” the source told SNG agency.
“Security bodies opened a probe into the incident,” according to the source, who preferred to speak on condition of anonymity.
Khanaqin, some 400 km southeast of Erbil, was previously part of Kirkuk province, but it was annexed to Diyala province after the Arabization process launched by late president Saddam Hussein.
It was the only place that recovered quickly from this process after Saddam’s fall in 2003. The city is still part of the disputed areas claimed by both Erbil and Baghdad.
In January 2015, Iraqi forces announced liberation of Diyala province from Islamic State extremist militants who proclaimed an “Islamic Caliphate” in Iraq and Syria in 2014.
The province has seen months of fighting between Iraqi troops and IS militants especially in the Jalawla and Saadiyah areas in the province’s north and areas near the town of Muqdadiyah.