IS area ruler dies of injuries following Diyala attack
IS militant’s dead body.
Alsumaria News quoted the source saying that “unconfirmed reports tel that the so-called ‘emir’ of Islamic State in Saadiya Basin died of injuries sustained during his participation in the attack on an army checkpoint near Rabia village near Saadiya (60 Km east of Baqubah).”
Islamic State, almost losing its main holdout in Mosul to a security operation running since October, has been escalating attacks at other provinces where it still has a presence.
Government and tribal forces have launched occasional operations over the past few months to clear border regions between Diyala and Salahuddin, killing dozens of militants. IS fighters have also responded with occasional attacks targeting troops, leaving several deaths.
Officials from towns still held by IS since 2014 have pressed the Iraqi government to hasten with security operations to retake those regions, but the Iraqi government is giving most attention to its battle in Mosul, Islamic State’s largest stronghold in Iraq.
Violence and armed conflicts left 824 Iraqis dead and wounded during the month of May, according to a monthly count by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq which excludes security members deaths.