Bombings kill 5 in Iraq

BAGHDAD

At least five people were killed in two bomb attacks in Iraq’s Salahuddin province, north of the capital Baghdad, on Tuesday, a police source said.

“An improvised explosive device went off at a patrol of Hashd al-Shaabi in the west coast of al-Shirqat district,” a police source told Anadolu Agency on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

Three Hashd al-Shaabi paramilitary fighters were killed and as many were injured in the blast.

“Another improvised bomb went off in al-Sura village in al-Shirqat district, resulted in killing of a civilian man and his son,” the source added.

Recently, the number of attacks on security forces in Kirkuk, Nineveh, Anbar, Salahuddin and Diyala provinces have increased considerably.

In late 2017, officials in Baghdad declared that the military presence of Daesh/ISIS in Iraq had been all but destroyed.

*Writing by Mahmoud Barakat