BAGHDAD, June 22 (Xinhua) -- A father and his son were shot dead on Tuesday by the militants of Islamic State (IS) in Iraq's eastern province of Diyala, a provincial police source said.
The incident took place early in the morning, when IS militants kidnapped the two near their house in the town of al-Muqdadiya, some 100 km northeast of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, Alaa al-Saadi told Xinhua.
Later, a joint force from the Iraqi army and police forces launched a search campaign to track down the militants and found the bodies of the kidnapped with bullet holes in their heads and chests, al-Saadi added.
Despite repeated military operations in Diyala, IS remnants are still hiding in some rugged areas near the border with Iran and the vast areas extending from the western part of the province to the Hamreen mountain range in the north of Baquba, about 65 km northeast of Baghdad.
Separately, a prominent leader in the Sunni paramilitary fighters of a group known as Sahwa, or Awakening Council, has survived an assassination attempt in al-Dora area in southern Baghdad, a police source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.
The incident took place late on Monday, when unidentified gunmen opened fire on the car of Shafeeq al-Jubouri, the prominent leader in Sahwa, and wounded him, the source said.
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
