Iraqi forces seize 18 mortar shells, defuse seven bombs in Baghdad
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Baghdad (Iraqinews.com) Iraqi security forces have seized 18 mortar shells and defused seven bombs in Baghdad on Monday, a military command said.
“The troops found 18 mortar shells and nabbed a number of outlaws who are wanted on different charges south of the Iraqi capital,” the Baghdad Operations Command said in a statement, a copy of which was obtained by Alghad Press on Monday.
Also, the forces seized one kilogram of the highly explosive TNT material and a detonator north of Baghdad, the statement read, adding that seven bombs were defused at al-Halabsa area west of the capital city.
Violence in the country has surged further with the emergence of Islamic State extremist militants who proclaimed an “Islamic Caliphate” in Iraq and Syria in 2014.
The surge in violence between armed groups and government forces has resulted in over 3 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.
A total of 117 Iraqi civilians were killed and another 264 injured in acts of terrorism, violence and armed conflict in Iraq in November, according to casualty figures recorded by the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI).
Apart from police forces, the number of civilians killed in November was 114, while the number of injured was 264, UNAMI said in its monthly release.
Of those figures, Baghdad was the worst affected Governorate, with 201 civilian casualties (51 killed, 150 injured). Salahaddin Governorate followed, with 24 killed and 60 injured, and Kirkuk had 12 killed and 28 injured.