5 policemen killed in roadside bombing in Iraq

Five members of the Iraqi federal police were killed on Friday in a roadside bomb explosion in the northern province of Kirkuk, reported Xinhua, quoting a provincial police source.

The incident took place in the morning, when a roadside bomb, planted by the militants of the extremist Islamic State (IS) group, exploded near a federal police vehicle outside the town of Daquq in Kirkuk Province, some 250 km north of the capital Baghdad, Abbas al-Obaidi, a local police officer, told Xinhua.

The explosion resulted in the destruction of the police vehicle and the killing of five policemen aboard, al-Obaidi said.

Following the deadly attack, a joint force of the Iraqi army and police combed through the area to track down the attackers, he added.

The security situation in Iraq has been improved since Iraqi security forces fully defeated the extremist IS militants across the country late in 2017.

However, IS remnants have since melted in urban areas or resorted to deserts and rugged areas, carrying out frequent guerilla attacks against security forces and civilians.