BAGHDAD, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- A total of two Islamic State (IS) militants and a civilian were killed on Sunday in separate attacks in Iraq's eastern province of Diyala, a provincial police source said.
A force affiliated with the intelligence service raided an IS hideout in Buhruz area, some 25 km south of the provincial capital Baquba, and killed two IS militants wearing explosive belts, Alaa al-Saadi told Xinhua.
In a separate incident, unidentified gunmen opened fire on a civilian and killed him before they fled the scene in Juba area in east of Baquba, some 65 km northeast of Baghdad, al-Saadi said.
Also in the province, two people were wounded by a roadside bomb planted by IS militants in a rural area near the town of Jalawlaa, some 135 km northeast of Baghdad, he added.
Despite repeated military operations in Diyala Province, remnants of IS militants are still hiding in some rugged areas near the border with Iran, and in the sprawling areas extending from the western part of the province to the Hamreen mountain range in north of Baquba.
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.
