Family of 8 killed, wounded in Islamic State attack in Anbar
Islamic State members in Iraq (representational photo)
Hit (IraqiNews.com) Eight members of the same family were killed and wounded on Tuesday when Islamic State members targeted homes belonging to paramilitary fighters in Anbar.
A security source told Baghdad Today that two Islamic State members hurled grenades at the homes of two brothers and members of the Popular Mobilization Forces in Saridiya and Kassara, west of the city of Hit.
Two of the household were killed, while six others were wounded, including children, said the source. Security forces killed the attackers before they could blow themselves up, and launched a search for other suspected participants in the attack, the source added.
Anbar’s wester areas have been held by IS since 2014, when the group proclaimed an Islamic “caliphate” in Iraq. Iraqi forces are preparing to invade the group’s last two holdouts there, Rawa and Qaim.
A monthly count by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI), which excludes security members deaths, said 196 Iraqi civilians were killed, while 381 others were wounded due to violence and armed conflicts during the month of September. The fatalities included 10 foreign nationals.
Popular Mobilization Forces have been actively engaged in the Iraqi government’s campaign to retake areas occupied by IS since 2014.