ISIS suicide bomber kills 3 army soldiers west of Mosul

An Islamic State suicide bomber killed three Iraqi army soldiers at an area recaptured weeks ago by paramilitary forces west of Mosul, a police officer was quoted saying Thursday.

Cap. Younis Aref, from Nineveh police department, told BasNews that the suicide bomber drove a booby-trapped car into a checkpoint run by the Iraqi army in al-Baaj region, near the borders with Syria, killing three soldiers.

Baaj and neighbouring Qairawan were both recaptured from IS militants by Popular Mobilization Forces in June. The militias claimed control over the borderline and said they effectively trapped IS inside Mosul.

Islamic State members have reportedly carried out intermittent attacks against security forces over the past few days even after the Iraqi government declared victory over the group in Mosul earlier this month.

The war against IS in Mosul has killed more than 25.000 IS members since its launch in October, according to the Iraqi Joint Operations Command which has for long declined to give a detailed toll of its casualties from the battle.

Only the town of Tal Afar and a few surrounding areas remain under IS control in Nineveh, but the Iraqi command puts those areas as their next targets.

Source: Iraqi News