BAGHDAD, Feb. 4 (Xinhua) -- An Islamic State (IS) leader, and two children were killed while five people injured on Monday in separate incidents in Iraq.
In Iraq's central province of Salahudin, Mohammed al-Bazi told Xinhua that an improvised explosive device planted by the IS went off as a family was having a picnic in the city of Samarra, some 120 km north of Baghdad, killing a child and injuring five of the family members.
In a separate incident, Iraqi intelligence forces killed a senior IS leader in Bahraz area in the province of Diyala, destroyed two hideouts and seized various kinds of weapons, a provincial police source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.
"A nine-year-old child was shot dead by the IS near his house in al-Makhisa village some 25 km northeast of Baquba, capital of Iraq's eastern province of Diyala," the source said.
Following the attack, a security force started a search operation in the nearby farms, looking for the attackers.
The security situation in Iraq has been dramatically improved after Iraqi security forces fully defeated the extremist IS militants across the country late in 2017.
However, IS remnants have since melted or regrouped in urban and rugged areas, carrying out attacks against the security forces and civilians despite operations from time to time to hunt them down.
