At least six people were killed and eight others wounded in an attack late Monday by suspected members of the Islamic State jihadist group in Diyala province (east), officials have confirmed.
Security sources quoted by the Iraqi news portal Shafaq detailed that the attackers opened fire on several vehicles in the town of Al Jalis, northeast of Baquba, after which a clash broke out between the terrorists and security forces.
The district commissioner of Al Jalis district, Uday al Khadran, detailed in statements to the Kurdish TV channel Rudaw that «the security forces are carrying out search operations for the terrorists» and added that «there are terrorist positions near the village against which no action had been taken previously».
The attack is the second by Islamic State cells in two days, after at least five operatives were killed in an attack in Kirkuk province on Sunday. The group has stepped up its operations in recent months and is particularly active in disputed areas between the central government and authorities in the semi-autonomous Iraqi Kurdistan region.
The group in November the death of its leader, Abu al Hassan al Hashemi al Quraishi, in an operation in Syria and confirmed Abu al Hussein al Huseini al Quraishi as the new leader, with no further details on his identity. Islamic State has lost three leaders since the 2019 death of Abu Bakr al Baghdadi.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
