BAGHDAD, Jan. 11 (Xinhua) -- Two Iraqi soldiers and three members of the paramilitary Hashd Shaabi were killed on Monday in attacks by the militants of the extremist Islamic State (IS) group in Iraq's eastern province of Diyala, a provincial security source said.
In one attack, two soldiers were killed and a third wounded when IS militants attacked their base on Monday evening in Buhruz area in the south of the provincial capital Baquba, some 65 km northeast of Baghdad, Major Alaa al-Saadi from the provincial police told Xinhua.
Iraqi security forces launched a search campaign in the area looking for the attackers, al-Saadi said.
In two other separate attacks, three members of the Hashd Shaabi were killed, the military officer said.
The security situation in Iraq has been dramatically improved after Iraqi security forces defeated the extremist IS militants 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
