Two civilians, four Islamic State members killed in attack, northeast of Diyala

Diyala (IraqiNews.com) Six people were killed, including Islamic State members, in an attack launched by the militant group, northeast of Baquba, the Security Media Center said on Thursday.

In a statement, Brig. Gen. Yahia Rasool, spokesperson for the center, “the military intelligence managed to foil an attempt by the militants against a village in Jalawla region, Diyala province.”

The militants, according to Rasool “were trying to kill some militants in the region.” However, “the troops managed to kill three militants, while the fourth blew up himself, which resulted in killing two civilians.”

Islamic State continues to launch sporadic attacks across Iraq against troops. Security reports indicate that the militant group still poses threat against stability in the country.

A total of 68 Iraqis were killed and another 122 injured in acts of terrorism, violence and armed conflict in Iraq in April, according to casualty figures recorded by the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI).

As many as 3,298 civilians were killed and 4,781 others were wounded in 2017, excluding Anbar civilian casualty figures for November and December, which are not available, UNAMI said in a report in December.

Thousands of Islamic State militants as well as Iraqi civilians were killed since the government campaign, backed by paramilitary troops and the coalition was launched in October 2016 to fight the militant group, which declared a self-styled “caliphate” from Mosul in June 2014.