Three policemen killed in Islamic State attack, west of Diyala

Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) Three police personnel were killed, while three others were wounded as Islamic State launched at attack in west of Diyala, an official said.

“Militants infiltrated from Hamreen regions in Salahuddin toward Udhaim dam to attack security checkpoint and al-Safra exit using mortar missiles and other weapons,” Abdul Jabbar al-Ebeidi, head of Udhaim town, told Baghdad Today on Friday.

“The attack left three containers burnt, three persons, including police officer, killed and others wounded,” he added.

Ebeidi blamed the attack on “security vacuum in regions between Diyala and Salahuddin from the north of Udhaim.”

Earlier on the day, a security source said security troops, backed by air cover, headed to the exit after the attack to control the situation there.

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.

114 Iraqi civilians were killed, while 244 others were wounded as result of terrorism, violence and armed conflicts, according to a monthly release by the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), issued on Wednesday.

Baghdad was the worst affected Governorate, coming in the first place with 177 civilian casualties (38 killed, 139 injured). Anbar province followed with 36 killed and 55 injured, and then Kirkuk with 18 killed and 33 injured.

The Iraqi capital has seen almost daily bombings and armed attacks against security members, paramilitary troops and civilians since the Iraqi government launched a wide-scale campaign to retake Islamic State-occupied areas in 2016.