Peshmerga fighters, IS militants killed, injured in attack, east of Salahuddin

Salahuddin (IraqiNews.com) Kurdish personnel, Islamic State militants were killed and wounded as fierce clashes occurred, east of Salahuddin, a security source was quoted saying.

AlSumaria News quoted the source as saying “IS fighters attacked sites of the Peshmerga troops from al-Zerka axis, west of Tuz Khurmatu, which resulted in clashes.”

The clashes, according to the source, “left two personnel killed and two others wounded, while four IS militants were killed and five others were injured.”

IS militants occasionally attack occur the west of Tuz Khurmatu and Daquq, south of Kirkuk as well as al-Dibs town, northwest of the province.

IS still holds a few areas in each of Anbar, Salahuddin, Diyala and Kirkuk.

Violence in the country has surged further with the emergence of Islamic State Sunni extremist militants who proclaimed an “Islamic Caliphate” in Iraq and Syria in 2014.

Bombings and armed attacks are seen on on almost a daily basis against security members, paramilitary groups and civilians since the Iraqi government launched a wide-scale campaign to retake IS-occupied areas in 2016.

More than 700 Iraqis were killed and wounded during the month of June as result of violence and armed conflicts, according to a monthly count by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI) which excludes security members deaths. Baghdad ranked the second place with 22 deaths and 88 injuries.