Terrorist attack in Iraq, at least 13 people killed
On December 3, Iraqi officials said at least three civilians and 10 members of the Kurdish armed forces were killed in an attack believed to have been carried out by the self-proclaimed "Islamic State" (IS) organization in the north of the country.
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| Iraqi counter-terrorism forces stand guard outside the US Embassy in Baghdad on January 2, 2020. Photo (document - illustration): AFP/TTXVN |
According to AFP news agency, on the evening of December 2, jihadists attacked the village of Khidir Jija, south of the capital of Arbil in the Kurdistan region. The three civilians killed in the attack were brothers aged between 11 and 24. The Kurdish armed forces launched a counter-attack and 10 of their members were killed when an explosive device planted by the attackers went off.
Meanwhile, Reuters reported that the attack occurred in the remote Makhmour mountain area, about 60km southwest of Arbil and about 70km southeast of Mosul city. This is a hot spot where IS attacks often occur against Kurdish forces and civilians. IS has not yet commented on the incident.
Late last month, five members of the Iraqi Kurdish forces were killed and four others wounded in a bomb attack in the southern city of Sulaimaniyah. Local authorities blamed IS for the attack.
Between 2014 and 2017, IS controlled about a third of Iraq, including the city of Mosul and the Makhmour Mountains. The US-led military coalition launched a counter-terrorism campaign to drive the group out of Iraq.
The Iraqi government declared IS defeated in late 2017, but the jihadists remain at large and continue to launch attacks on security forces. According to Western military sources, at least 10,000 IS fighters are still holed up in Iraq and neighboring Syria.