Five persons killed, sixth injured in armed attack in Babil

Babil (IraqiNews.com) Five persons were killed, while a sixth was wounded on Sunday evening in an armed attack in central Hillah town, in Babil, a security source said.

“Unknown gunmen in vehicles opened fire on people on street 60 in Hillah, leaving five killed and the sixth wounded,” the source told Baghdad Today.

The victims and the injured used to live in southern Baghdad before moving to Babil.

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.

A monthly count by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI), which excludes security members deaths, said 297 Iraqis, were killed and injured due to violence and armed conflicts during the month of ِAugust. Baghdad was the most affected province with 45 deaths and 135 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 and attacks went without a claim of responsibility, Islamic State has claimed several incidents.

According to security observers, even after Islamic State’s main havens across Iraqi provinces are conquered, the group may still constitute a security threat through sleeper cells and lone wolf attacks.