Roadside bomb killed and injured two Iraqi militiamen near Khanaqin

At least one fighter belonging to the Iraqi Shi’ite militias of Hashd al-Shaabi was killed while another suffered injuries in a roadside bomb blast near Khanaqin, north of Diyala province, a security officials confirmed on Tuesday.

The blast occurred while a Hashd al-Shaabi convoy was patrolling the rural areas near Sherke village, said a commander of the group.

Additional forces were deployed to the area afterwards, but no Islamic State (IS) suspects were found, he added.

The blast comes as the Iraqi army, backed by the US-led Coalition fighter jets, is leading a massive operation across the north and west of the country to mop up the IS sleeper cells hiding in the desert areas.

Earlier on Monday, the army announced the beginning of “Operation New Dawn” in southwest Kirkuk near Hawija, where Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi paid a field visit to supervise the operation.

Source: Basnews