Bomb blast kills senior paramilitary commander, wounds four companions in Diyala
A Shi’ite volunteer wearing a mask, who has joined the Iraqi army to fight against the predominantly Sunni militants from the radical Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), looks on during a parade on a street in Kanaan, Diyala province, June 26, 2014.
Diyala (IraqiNews.com) – Five Iraqi paramilitary forces, including a senior commander, were killed and wounded Thursday in a bomb explosion northeast of Diyala, a security source from the province said.
Speaking to Baghdad Today news agency, the source said that a senior commander of the 110th brigade of al-Hashd al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilization Forces) was killed while four of his companions were injured when a bomb explosion targeted their armored vehicle on the outskirts of the Hamrin Mountains, 80 km northeast of Baqubah.
The source added that the security forces sealed off the blast scene and launched a probe into the bomb attack.
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.
The surge in violence between armed groups and government forces has resulted in over five million internally displaced persons across Iraq and left more than 11 million in need of humanitarian assistance, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.