BAGHDAD, July 15 (Xinhua) -- Three Islamic State (IS) militants and a civilian were killed on Wednesday in separate incidents in the eastern Iraqi province of Diyala, security sources said.
"A force from the paramilitary Sunni tribal fighters, affiliated with Hashad Shaabi forces, ambushed two IS militants in the north of the town of al-Muqdadiya, some 100 km northeast of the capital Baghdad," Ahmed al-Azawi, a local leader of the tribal fighters, told Xinhua.
A clash erupted between the force and the militants that resulted in the killing of the two militants, al-Azawi said.
The extremist IS militants also attacked a village near the town of Jalawlaa, some 135 km northeast of Baghdad, leaving a villager killed and four others wounded, he said.
The militants fled the scene as the security forces launched a search for the attackers, al-Azawi added.
Meanwhile, Talib al-Mousawi, a local leader of the Hashd Shaabi forces, said in a statement that a Hashid Shaabi force killed Mahmoud Qardash al-Bayati, a leader of the IS group in Diyala Province, near al-Muqdaiyah.
In this raid, another militant was wounded but fled the scene, prompting the Hashd Shaabi force to search the area for the wounded militant, al-Mousawi added.
The IS militants have intensified their attacks on the Iraqi security forces, including Hashd Shaabi forces, and civilians in the formerly IS-controlled Sunni provinces, resulting in the killing and wounding of dozens.
The security situation in Iraq has been improving since Iraqi security forces fully defeated the IS militants across the country late in 2017.
However, IS remnants have since melted in urban areas or deserts and rugged areas, carrying out frequent guerilla attacks against security forces and civilians. Enditem
