TIKRIT, Iraq, May 1 (Xinhua) -- Unknown gunmen attacked houses in a town in Iraq's central province of Salahudin on Tuesday, leaving 16 people killed and four others injured, a provincial security source said.
The attack took place in the evening when gunmen armed with machine guns attacked three houses for families in 14th Ramadan village south of town of Dujail, some 60 km north of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, Lieutenant Colonel Mohammed al-Jubouri from Salahudin's provincial police told Xinhua.
The three houses belonging to three sons of a judge named Rahim al-Marzouq, the source said, adding that all the victims are the members of the three families and most of them were women and children.
Iraqi security forces launched investigation into the incident, while the troops sealed off the scene and started a search campaign in the area looking for the attackers, Jubouri said.
The predominately Sunni Arab province of Salahudin has been the scene of a major offensive by Iraqi security forces and allied Hashd Shaabi units to drive out Islamic State (IS) militants from the provincial key cities and towns, including its capital city Tikrit, some 170 km north of Baghdad.
On Dec. 9, 2017, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi officially declared full liberation of Iraq from IS militants after Iraqi forces recaptured all the areas once seized by the extremist group.
However, small groups and individuals of IS militants melted in urban areas or resorted to deserts and rugged areas in many areas in Iraq looking for safe havens. They are still capable of carrying out attacks from time to time against the security forces and civilians.
