Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) Islamic State militant group has claimed responsibility for the blasts that took place, north of Tikrit, which left many people killed and injured.

The media-arm of IS, Amaq news agency, said 17 personnel of al-Hashd al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilization Forces) were killed, while 30 others were wounded in an ambush at Asdeira village in Shirqat town.

On Thursday, Ali Dawdah, mayor of Shirqat, said in a statement, “ten people were killed, while 14 others were wounded as explosives went off while digging tombs, on Wednesday night. The bombs were planted in a grave in Asdeira village in western Shirqat, north of Salahuddin.”

Islamic State continues to launch sporadic attacks across Iraq against troops. Security reports indicate that the militant group still poses threat against stability in the country.

A total of 104 Iraqi civilians and policemen were killed, while 177 others were injured in acts of terrorism, violence and armed conflict in Iraq in March, according to casualty figures by the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI).

Thousands of IS militants as well as Iraqi civilians were killed since the government campaign, backed by paramilitary troops and the coalition was launched in October 2016 to fight the militant group, which declared a self-styled “caliphate” from Mosul in June 2014.

In December, Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi announced full liberation of Iraqi lands, declaring end of war against IS members. </s> Baghdad (Iraqinews.com) – A group of Islamic State militants executed on Monday six people, including two pro-government fighters, a few hours after kidnapping them in Mosul city.

“IS militants wearing Iraqi military uniforms set up a fake checkpoint on the road linking between Ein el-Azab village in Al-Shirqat district and al-Hadar Island in southern Mosul,” Captain Abdel Khaleq al-Eifan from the Iraqi rapid response forces told Turkey’s news agency Anadolu.

The IS terrorists managed to kidnap six people, including four workers and two members of Al-Hashd Al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilization Forces) after examining their IDs, Captain al-Eifan said.

The bodies of the six people were found at a desert area a few hours after the kidnapping, he said, adding that the victims were found shackled and shot in their heads and backs, meaning that they were executed by the IS militants.

Iraq declared victory over Islamic State in December with the help of a US-led alliance, having retaken all the territory captured by the extremists in 2014 and 2015.

Despite the group’s crushing defeat at its main havens across Iraq, Islamic State continues to launch sporadic attacks against troops with security reports warning that the militant group still poses a threat against stability in the country. </s> Kirkuk (Iraqinews.com) – Over 90 Islamic State (IS) militants have been killed in Kirkuk as security forces continue launching manhunts nationwide in search of dormant IS cells, a well-placed security official was quoted as saying Tuesday.

“As part of ongoing efforts to track down IS cells, Iraqi troops managed to kill over 90 IS militants and destroyed at least 100 terrorist hotbeds in different security operations in southwestern Kirkuk,” Commander of the 16th brigade of al-Hashd al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilization Forces) Nabil Eissa al-Beshiry told Knooz Media.

“The anti-IS security operations have achieved good results so far,” he said, citing the killing of five IS militants, including three foreigners, in the province Monday.

Beshiry stressed that Iraqi troops will continue to hunt for dormant IS cells nationwide to protect the country from their threat.

Iraq declared the collapse of Islamic State’s territorial influence in November with the recapture of Rawa, a city on Anbar’s western borders with Syria, which was the group’s last bastion in Iraq.

The Islamic State group appeared on the international scene in 2014 when it seized large swathes of territory in Iraq and Syria, declaring the establishment of an Islamic “caliphate” from Mosul city.

Despite the group’s crushing defeat at its main havens across Iraq, Islamic State continues to launch sporadic attacks against troops with security reports warning that the militant group still poses a threat against stability in the country. </s> Kirkuk (IraqiNews.com) Iraqi security forces on Tuesday arrested an Islamic State member who, they claim, was behind several ambushes in which security personnel had been killed in the latest period.

Alsumaria News quoted a security source saying that “security forces arrested 11 Islamic State terrorists, including Abu Suleiman al-Afri, who had been responsible for erecting fake checkpoints on the Kirkuk-Baghdad road”.

The source, who asked not to be named, said troops found maps and drafts of attack schemes for the group.

Iraq declared victory over Islamic State militants in December, ending a three-year war to retake areas occupied by the militants in 2014.

Though the government said the group’s territorial influence came to an end, the militants have launched occasional attacks against security forces and civilians, growing fears that it might still pose a security threat.

News reports have said the group had set up several ambushes in which security forces were attacked.

In mid February, the group ambushed several Popular Mobilization Forces members in Saadouniya, Kirkuk, leaving 27 dead. After the attack, Iraqi forces launched offensives to clear remnant militant cells in the province. </s> Kirkuk (Iraqinews.com) – Pro-government troops launched in the wee hours of Monday a military operation in al-Hawija district in Kirkuk, managing to kill five foreign militants of the Islamic State group, a military source was quoted as saying.

Speaking to Baghdad Today, the source said: “A force from al-Hashd al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilization Forces) 16th brigade launched a manhunt for IS militants in al-Humayra village in Hawija, southwest of Kirkuk.”

“Five foreign IS insurgents were killed in the operation,” according to the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declared last October that Iraqi troops recaptured Hawija, a main town held by Islamic State in the country.

The town had fallen to IS in June 2014, when the militant group seized control of much of northern and western Iraq and proclaimed the creation of a self-styled “caliphate”.

There, Islamic State’s reign forced thousands to flee to refugee camps, while hundreds had been executed by the group for attempting to escape the area or contacting security forces.

The offensive on Hawija began on 21 September and has involved army, police and special forces units, as well as the Shia-led paramilitary Popular Mobilization Forces.

Despite the victory over IS in the city, observers say IS is believed to constitute a security threat even after the group’s defeat at its main havens across Iraqi provinces. </s> Kirkuk (Iraqinews.com) – Islamic State (IS) group claimed that its militants killed and injured 103 government troops within a month in different Iraqi cities.

In an online statement, a copy of which was obtained by IKH News, the militant group said, “Another 13 Iraqi troops were taken captive during the period from February 19 to March 21.”

The militant group further claimed that its insurgents destroyed 12 armored vehicles and an oil tank during the aforementioned period.

Despite the victory over IS last year, observers say the militant group is still constituting a security threat even after the group’s defeat at its main havens across Iraqi provinces.

Iraq declared victory over Islamic State in December with the help of a US-led alliance, having retaken all the territory captured by the extremists in 2014 and 2015.

Isolated cells believed to be linked to the Islamic State group remain active in some parts of the country. In recent weeks, suspected Islamic State insurgents have carried out several attacks targeting security forces in the areas north-west of Kirkuk.

The Islamic State group appeared on the international scene in 2014 when it seized large swathes of territory in Iraq and Syria, declaring the establishment of an Islamic “caliphate” from Mosul city. Later on, the group has become notorious for its brutality, including mass killings, abductions and beheadings, prompting the U.S. to lead an international coalition to destroy it. </s> Video: As Iraqi forces press on in Mosul, Islamic State launches Kirkuk counterattack

Suspected Islamic State militants killed 18 people in Kirkuk on Friday, four days after Iraqi and Kurdish forces started an offensive to take back control of Mosul </s> Baghdad (Iraqinews.com) – As many as 36 Islamic State (IS) militants were killed on Sunday after Iraqi warplanes targeted their terrorist hotbed located in Syria, a spokesman for the Iraqi Security Media Council was quoted as saying.

Alghdad Press quoted Brig. Gen. Yehia Rasool as saying in a statement that Iraqi Air Forces launched a series of airstrikes on Syrian territories using F-16 jets to eliminate Islamic State terrorists, who were planning to carry out terrorist attacks in Iraq.

According to the statement, the air raids left 36 IS militants dead, including six senior leaders who were gathering at one of their hotbeds inside Syria.

The Islamic State group appeared on the international scene in 2014 when it seized large swathes of territory in Iraq and Syria, declaring the establishment of an Islamic “caliphate” from Mosul city.

Later on, the group has become notorious for its brutality, including mass killings, abductions and beheadings, prompting the U.S. to lead an international coalition to destroy it.

Despite the group’s crushing defeat at its main havens across Iraq last December, Islamic State continues to launch sporadic attacks against troops with security reports warning that the militant group still poses a threat against stability in the country. </s> BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Around 55 people were killed in Iraq in attacks on Saturday that targeted a Shi’ite Muslim gathering, a police check-point and the family of a Sunni paramilitary leader opposed to Islamic State, according to security and medical sources.

The escalation comes as Iraqi forces are getting ready to launch an offensive to take back Mosul, the last Iraqi city still under control of Islamic State, in northern Iraq.

The heaviest toll was caused by a suicide bomber who detonated an explosive vest in the middle of a Shi’ite gathering in Baghdad, killing at least 41 people and wounding 33.

The explosion went off inside a tent filled with people taking part in Shi’ite Ashura rituals, which mourn the killing of Prophet Mohammad’s grandson Hussein in the 7th century.

Islamic State claimed the attack in an online statement.

Some people were also in the tent to mourn the death of a local resident, authorities said. The tent was set up in a crowded market in the city’s northern al-Shaab district.

Gunmen believed to belong to Islamic State, a Sunni group, earlier in the day staged two attacks north of Baghdad, one targeting a police check-point and the other the house of a Sunni militia chief who supports the government, police sources said.

Eight policemen were killed and 11 others wounded in the first attack which took place Mutaibija, south of the city of the city of Tikrit, while the militants had three dead in their ranks.

In the second, the wife and three children of Numan al-Mujamaie, the leader of the Ishaqi Mobilization militia, were killed when gunmen stormed his house in the town of Ishaq in his absence.

Slideshow (9 Images)

The assailants fled, chased by security forces, and later killed themselves by detonating explosive belts, police said.

Islamic State has intensified bomb attacks in government-held areas this year as it loses territory to U.S.-backed Iraqi government forces and Iranian-backed Shi’ite militias.

The group claimed a truck bombing in July that killed at least 324 people in the Karrada shopping area of Baghdad - the deadliest single attack in Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein in 2003.
An al-Hashd al-Shaabi commander announces the deaths of 90 Islamic State members in Kirkut, Iraq.