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Three killed, 6 wounded in blast while escaping IS in Salahuddin

 Three killed, 6 wounded in blast while escaping IS in Salahuddin

Families return to liberated areas of Nineveh.

Families return to liberated areas of Nineveh.
Salahuddin (IraqiNews.com) Three people were killed and six others were wounded on Saturday in Salahuddin when a bomb blast hit a group of civilians escaping Islamic State-held areas in Kirkuk.

A security source told Alsumaria News that the explosive device was planted in Hamreen mountainous area north of Salahuddin. He said the group was fleeing IS-held town of Hawija, southwest of Kirkuk, adding that it has been the extremist group’s habit to target escaping families with IEDs.g points

IS fighters have occupied the regions of Hawija, al-Rashad, al-Abbasi, al-Zab abd al-Riyadh since the group emerged in 2014 and took over large parts of Iraq. Those areas have served as launching points for attacks on civilians and security forces in Salahuddin and the outskirts of Kirkuk.

The United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI) said violence in the country left 19000 casualties in nine months of 2016.

Observers believe Islamic State have begun to escalate attacks outside the city of Mosul, where the group has been losing ground and personnel since October, so as to relieve pressure by government forces on that front and to divert attention from group losses.

While losing Mosul could be the severest blow to the group’s existence in Iraq, some observers believe attacks outside the province prove that the extremist group can still pose a security threat.

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