BAGHDAD, July 17 (Xinhua) -- Four Iraqi soldiers were killed on Saturday in an attack by militants of the extremist Islamic State (IS) group in the northern province of Kirkuk, a provincial police source said.
The attack took place in the morning when IS militants opened fire on an army outpost in a village near the al-Dibis area northwest of the namesake provincial capital Kirkuk, some 250 km north of Iraq's capital Baghdad, Falah al-Obaidi told Xinhua.
The attack sparked a fierce clash that resulted in the killing of the four Iraqi soldiers, al-Obaidi said.
Iraqi security forces arrived at the scene and launched a search for the attackers in the nearby rugged area.
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
