BAGHDAD, Jan. 27 (Xinhua) -- A total of four people were killed and eight others injured Sunday in two roadside bomb attacks in Iraq's central province of Salahuldin, a provincial police source said.
The first attack took place in the morning when a roadside bomb went off near a four-wheel drive vehicle, carrying passengers, on a main road near the town of al-Shirqat, some 280 km north of the Iraqi capital Baghdad, leaving two policemen killed and six people wounded, including three policemen, Col. Mohammed al-Bazi told Xinhua.
About 30 minutes later, a second roadside bomb struck another vehicle when a police force arrived near the site of the first explosion, killing a policeman and a civilian and injuring two more policemen, al-Bazi said.
Iraqi security forces cordoned off the area and conducted a search operation looking for the attackers, he added.
No group has so far claimed responsibility for the attack, but the Islamic State (IS) militant group, in most cases, has been responsible for such attacks targeting security forces and areas where crowds of people gather, including markets, cafes and mosques.
The security situation in Iraq has been dramatically improved after security forces fully defeated the extremist IS militants across the country late in 2017.
However, IS remnants have since regrouped in deserts and rugged areas, carrying out attacks against security forces and civilians despite the military operations from time to time to hunt them down.
