Security foil another IS attack in Salahuddin, 2 militants killed

Salahuddin (IraqiNews.com) Two Islamic State militants were killed and a militiaman was wounded on Tuesday as security troops and mobilization forces foiled an attack by the group east of Salahuddin province, a security source has said.

Security and al-Hashd al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilization Units) deployed in the Mutaibija region pushed back Islamic State attackers, killing two militants from the assaulting group, the source told Alsumaria News. One PMU member was wounded in the incident, the source added.

Mutaibija has recently seen occasional Islamic State militant activities against security forces.

The recent attack comes hours after another assault by the extremist group on an army deployment in Tal Kusaiba, also in the eastern region of the province, leaving 39 militants killed, according to security sources.

Islamic State has escalated attacks across Iraqi provinces, including Salahuddin, since Iraqi government forces managed to retake a half of its largest bastion in the country, the city of Mosul, since October 2016. Observers believe the extremist group is trying to make up for daily losses in Mosul and to relieve security pressure on that front by attacking security and civilians at other cities.

The group has lost at least 3300 of its personnel in the operations at Mosul