Officer killed, 5 wounded in Diyala bomb blast
A bomb explosion. File photo.
Diyala (IraqiNews.com) An Iraqi army officer was killed and five soldiers were injured when an explosive device went off west of Baqubah, Diyala, a police source in the province was quoted saying.
DPA quoted the source saying that the bomb, planted on the side of a road in al-Bawiya village, east of Baqubah, exploded in a passing army patrol. An officer was killed while other lower ranking personnel were wounded as a result of the blast.
Islamic State members have escalated their attacks against security and civilians over the past months as Iraqi forces were focusing most of their efforts to drive the group out of Mosul, the militants’ former capital which was declared free earlier this month. More than 25000 militants were killed in the Mosul campaign, according to Iraqi generals, including both foreign and local members, while a few thousands remain in other havens in Diyala, Salahuddin, Kirkuk and Anbar which the Iraqi government plans to target with future military offensives.
Violence and armed conflicts in Iraq left more than 500 Iraqis dead and wounded during the month of July, according to a monthly casualty count released by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI).