Two paramilitary fighters killed in IS attack in eastern Iraq

Baghdad: Two members of the Iraqi paramilitary Hashd Shaabi forces were killed and a third wounded on Sunday in an attack by Islamic State (IS) militants in Iraq's eastern province of Diyala, according to a police source.

The incident occurred late Saturday night when IS militants targeted a military vehicle carrying Hashd Shaabi members, also known as the Popular Mobilization Forces, near the town of Maqdadiyah, approximately 100 km northeast of Baghdad.

Alaa al-Saadi from the Diyala provincial police reported to Xinhua that the assault resulted in two fatalities and one injury among the Hashd Shaabi members, and it also damaged the military vehicle, Xinhua news agency reported.

Reinforcement troops arrived at the scene and initiated an operation to pursue the attackers, who fled into surrounding rural areas.

Although the security situation in Iraq has improved since the defeat of IS in 2017, remnants of the group continue to infiltrate urban centers, deserts, and rugged terrains, frequently launching guerrilla attacks against both security forces and civilians.