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Soldier killed an armed attack north of Baqubah

 Soldier killed an armed attack north of Baqubah

Iraqi army soldiers

Iraqi army soldiers
Diyala (IraqiNews.com) An Iraqi army soldier was killed on Sunday in an armed attack by Islamic State extremists that targeted a checkpoint north of Baqubah, Diyala.

A security source told Alsumaria News that the attack hit a checkpoint at the region of al-Hawi, 80 kilometers north of Baqubah.

Military reinforcements were sent to the scene of the attack and began combing the area for attackers, according to the source.

Attacks on civilians and security forces escalated since Islamic State militants took over large areas of Iraq in 2014 to proclaim a self-styled “Islamic Caliphate”. 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 militants 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, and that it might shift to a guerrilla style of confrontation.

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