Soldier killed, 4 wounded in southern Baghdad gunfire, bombing

Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) One army soldier was killed and two others were wounded, while two civilians were wounded Thursday when armed gunmen targeted a checkpoint and in a bombing in southern Baghdad.

Police sources told Alsumaria News that one army soldier was killed and two others were injured when armed gunmen shot at a checkpoint in al-Madaen, south of the capital.

Meanwhile, two civilians were also wounded when a bomb exploded in a commercial area in al-Makaseb, southwest of Baghdad, the sources said.

Nobody has claimed responsibility for the bombing or the gun attack, but IS militants have said they had been responsible for several bloody explosions and attacks that hit the capital in the past months, bringing the governorate municipal and security officials under critics’ fire.

The United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI) says violence in the country left nearly 392 dead, excluding security members, and 613 injured during February. Baghdad was the second most affected province with 120 deaths and 300 injuries, according to the organization.

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.