Over the past few months, Iraqi security forces have conducted operations against the extremist militants to crack down on their intensified activities…reports Asian Lite News
Three brothers and one of their relatives were killed in an attack by Islamic State (IS) militants in Iraq’s eastern province of Diyala, a provincial police source said.
IS militants opened fire at a group of young men swimming in the Diyala River in the town of Maqdadiyah on Thursday, some 100 km northeast of the Iraqi capital Baghdad, Xinhua news agency reported, citing Major Alaa al-Saadi of the police provincial command.
The three brothers were killed on the spot, and their relative later died in a hospital, al-Saadi said, adding that another relative of the brothers was also wounded in the attack.
Iraqi security forces rushed to the scene and launched a search campaign looking for the attackers, al-Saadi said.
Over the past few months, Iraqi security forces have conducted operations against the extremist militants to crack down on their intensified activities.
The security situation in Iraq has been improving since 2017 after defeating the IS. However, the IS remnants have since melted into urban centers, deserts and rugged areas, carrying out frequent guerilla attacks against the security forces and civilians.
Resort bombardment
Iraq has decided to recall its charge d’affaires from Ankara for consultations and summoned the Turkish ambassador over the deadly bombardment on a northern Iraqi resort.
The Iraqi Ministerial Council for National Security announced the decisions after holding an emergency meeting on the artillery strikes that killed at least nine tourists and wounded 23 others earlier on Wednesday, Xinhua news agency reported.
Iraq accused Turkiye of striking the resort in Duhok Province of its semi-autonomous region, a charge Ankara has denied.
“Turkiye disregards Iraq’s demands to stop the violations against Iraq’s sovereignty and disrespects the principle of good neighborliness,” the Iraqi ministerial council said in a statement, urging Turkiye to submit an official apology and withdraw its forces from all Iraqi territories.
The council also decided to pause dispatching a new ambassador to Turkiye in protest of the attack, and order the filing of a complaint to the United Nations Security Council.
Ankara regularly carries out cross-border military actions into northern Iraq, claiming to target the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) which is listed as a terrorist organisation by Turkiye, the US and the EU.
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