Iraqi soldier, wife killed in suspected ISIS attack in Diyala

An Iraqi soldier and his wife were killed on Tuesday after a number of suspected Islamic State (ISIS) members attacked his house, according to a police spokesperson.

Nihad Mohammed, spokesperson for Diyala police, told Rudaw’s Hiwa Husamaddin that eyewitnesses have seen a number of people, he suspects to be affiliated to ISIS, entering the house of the soldier and “brutally” killing him and his wife.

However, it is not clear with what the spouses were killed as no weapon was used, added the spokesperson.

The incident took place in the Tahrir neighbourhood.

Police have launched an investigation into the assault, said Mohammed.

ISIS seized large swathes of Iraqi and Syrian territory in 2014 and declared a so-called “caliphate.” While the group was declared territorially defeated in Iraq in 2017, it still continues to pose serious security risks through hit-and-run attacks, bombings, and abductions across several provinces.

The terror group is particularly active in areas disputed by the federal government and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), including parts of Kirkuk, Salahaddin, and Diyala.

A deadly ISIS attack in Kirkuk province killed at least seven members of the federal Iraqi police in December.

Source » rudaw