Two soldiers injured in armed attack, south of Baghdad
Iraqi security forces gather at the site of a bomb attack in the city of Kerbala, Iraq June 9, 2017. REUTERS/Stringer
Speaking to Alghad Press on Wednesday, the source said, “unknown gunmen opened fire against an army patrol in al-Hirkawi region, south of Baghdad.”
“Two soldiers were injured,” the source added.
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.
Security members, paramilitary groups and civilians are targeted by bombings and armed attacks since the Iraqi government launched a wide-scale campaign to retake IS-occupied areas in 2016.
More than 500 Iraqis were killed and injured during July due to violence and armed conflicts, according to a monthly count by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI). Baghdad was the second most affected province with 38 killed and 85 injured.
“A total of 241 Iraqi civilians were killed and another 277 injured in acts of terrorism, violence and armed conflict in Iraq in July,” the UNAMI report said, noting that the security personnel casualties were excluded from the figures.
While most of of the explosions attacks went without a claim of responsibility, Islamic State has claimed several incidents.