Soldier killed, another wounded in armed attack west of Baghdad

Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) An Iraqi army soldier was killed while another one was wounded Monday when armed attackers shot at their patrol in western Baghdad, according to a security source.
Almaalomah website quoted the source saying that the unknown assailants shot at the patrol when it was passing through Arab Nuri, west of the capital.

Violence and armed conflicts left more than 700 Iraqis dead and wounded during the month of June, according to a monthly count by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq which excludes security members deaths. Baghdad came second in terms of casualties, with 22 deaths and 88 injuries.

Baghdad has seen almost daily bombings and armed attacks against security members, paramilitary groups and civilians since the Iraqi government launched a wide-scale campaign to retake IS-occupied areas in 2016. While most of of the explosions attacks went without a claim of responsibility, Islamic State has claimed several incidents.

The Iraqi government, currently focused on ousting the group from Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city, is expected to aim at other IS holdouts afterwards.

Some security observers believe that even after IS’s main havens across Iraqi provinces are conquered, the group may still constitute a security threat through sleeper cells and lone wolf attacks. They believe attacks outside Mosul are designed to make up for the group’s losses there.