BAGHDAD, April 26 (Xinhua) -- Three Iraqi soldiers and two Islamic State (IS) militants were killed on Tuesday during clashes between the two sides, the Iraqi military said.
Iraq's army force carried out a raid on an IS hideout in an orchard in the Tarmiyah area, some 30 km north of the capital Baghdad, killing two IS militants including a suicide bomber wearing an explosive belt, the media office of the Iraqi Joint Operations Command said in a statement.
A soldier was killed and an officer wounded during the raid, the statement added.
In the western province of Anbar, two soldiers were killed and another wounded in the early morning when the IS militants attacked an army outpost near the international highway outside the town of Heet, some 160 km west of Baghdad, an army source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.
Over the past few months, Iraqi security forces have carried out operations against the extremist militants to crack down on their intensified activities.
The security situation in Iraq has been improving since the defeat of the IS in 2017. However, the IS remnants have melted into urban centers, deserts, and rugged areas, carrying out frequent guerilla attacks against security forces and civilians. ■
