Unidentified gunmen shoot Iraqi serviceman dead in Diyala

Diyala (IraqiNews.com) – An Iraqi serviceman was killed Sunday in an armed attack in the rural province of Diyala, a security source said as the country still suffers from the lack of stability despite the defeat of the Islamic State militant group in December 2017.

“Unidentified gunmen opened fire at a serviceman while crossing a highway near the Shia-majority city of Khan Bani Saad in the province of Diyala, leaving him dead,” the source told Almaalomah news website.

“Security forces cordoned off the site and launched a manhunt for the culprits,” said the source.

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 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.