ISIS gunmen kill 4, including Iraqi soldiers, and wound 3 more in disputed Jalawla: official

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Alleged Islamic State gunmen clashed with Iraqi security forces in a remote area in Diyala province on Sunday evening, killing a civilian and three soldiers and wounding three others, a police official from the area said.

The incident occurred on the outskirts of the Islah village of Jalawla subdistrict, located in Diyala’s Khanaqin District, Simko Ali, assistant director of the nearby Koks security forces department (Asayish), told Kurdistan 24.

The settlement is close to rough terrain that so-called Islamic State sleeper cells have frequently exploited as hideouts from where they planned attacks on nearby areas.

Ali said one civilian, as well as an Iraqi military officer with the rank of major, had been killed in the attack. He also reported that a captain and two other soldiers had been wounded.

The official added that locals at Islah village had come to the aid of the Iraqi army unit, and Islamic State militants had vacated the area.

The region is part of territories disputed between the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and the Federal Government of Iraq, which continue to be the site of terrorist attacks.

Kurdish Peshmerga commanders have warned that Islamic State sleeper agents could continue to exploit a security vacuum between the Kurdish and Iraqi forces in disputed areas.

Baghdad declared an official military victory against the Islamic State in late 2017, but the group continues to launch insurgent attacks, ambushes, and kidnappings across much of the country.

Officials from the Kurdistan Region and Iraq have repeatedly warned of a possible resurgence of the terrorist group.

On Sunday, the Iraqi military said its warplanes shelled an alleged Islamic State hideout in a rural part of Salahuddin province, killing all its occupants.

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany