BAGHDAD, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- A paramilitary Hashd Shaabi member was killed and three others wounded on Monday in an Islamic State (IS) attack in the north-central province of Salahudin, a provincial police source said.
The IS militants, exploiting the bad weather, attacked in the evening the government-backed Hashd Shaabi base in a desert area in the east of the provincial capital Tikrit, some 170 km north of Baghdad, Mohammed al-Bazi from the provincial police command told Xinhua.
The attack sparked a fierce clash that killed a Hashd Shaabi member and wounded three others, one of them in critical condition, al-Bazi said.
The attackers withdrew after the arrival of Hashd Shaabi reinforcements, he added.
Over the past months, Iraqi security forces have conducted operations against 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, its remnants have since melted into urban centers, deserts and rugged areas, carrying out frequent guerilla attacks against security forces and civilians. ■
