Alwaght- Remnants of ISIS terrorist group have launched two separate attacks in Iraq’s Diyala Province, killing more than two dozen civilians and Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) amid ongoing counter-terrorism operations to purge the extremists from all parts of the war-battered Arab country.
Captain Habib al-Shamri said ISIS terrorists set up a fake security checkpoint on a highway near al-Azim district in the eastern Iraqi province of Diyala, and stopped a number of civilian vehicles.
Shamri added the terrorists then opened fire on the passengers, killing 15 civilians and injuring five others. The injured civilians were taken to a nearby hospital to receive medical treatment. He noted that the terrorists escaped after the attack.
The officer also said that another ISIS attack in the same province killed three more people.
Separately, seven forces from PMF volunteer forces, better known by the Arabic name Hashd al-Shaabi, were killed when ISIS terrorists attacked a house of a tribal sheikh in the town of Mukashafah, south of Tikrit.
Major Sabhan Matar said ISIS extremists mounted the assault when the PM forces were meeting at the house.
On December 9, 2017, Iraq’s Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declared the end of military operations against the ISIS terrorist group in the Arab country.
On July 10, Abadi formally declared victory over ISIS extremists in Mosul, which served as the terrorists’ main urban stronghold in the conflict-ridden Arab country.
In the run-up to Mosul's liberation, Iraqi army soldiers and volunteer Popular Mobilization Forces had made sweeping gains against ISIS.
The Iraqi forces took control of eastern Mosul in January 2017 after 100 days of fighting, and launched the battle in the west on February 19 last year.
ISIS began a terror campaign in Iraq in 2014, overrunning vast swathes in lightning attacks.
