A policeman was killed and two others wounded, in a roadside bomb attack, at a volatile area in Iraq’s central province of Salahudin, a police source said.
The attack occurred in Mteibijah area, some 100 km south-east of Salahudin’s provincial capital, Tikrit, when a roadside bomb, planted outside an abandoned house, went off near a police patrol and destroyed one of its vehicles, leaving a policeman killed and two others injured, Major Amir al-Jubouri, a police officer said.
The attack occurred while the policemen were conducting a search operation, in the rugged area of Mteibijah, which has long been a redoubt of the Daesh, despite repeated anti-Daesh military operations in the areas, in the eastern part of Salahudin and extend to neighbouring Diyala province and the nearby mountainous area.
During the past few months, dozens of militants fled their former bases in the key cities of the predominately Sunni Arab province of Salahudin, including the provincial capital Tikrit, some 170 km north of Baghdad.
On Dec 9, Iraqi Prime Minister, Haider al-Abadi, officially declared full liberation of Iraq from the militants, after Iraqi forces recaptured all the areas once seized by the extremist group.
However, small groups and individual militants melted in urban areas, or resorted to deserts and rugged areas, looking for safe havens.
They are still capable of carrying out attacks against the security forces and civilians
Source: NAM News Network