An Iraqi army officer and four soldiers were killed in an attack in central Iraq launched by ISIS.
The attack took place late on Monday in a rural area between Diyala and Salahuddin provinces, the government said.
The area has been a hotbed of activity for militant cells years after Iraq declared victory over ISIS in 2017.
In a statement, the Iraqi Defence Ministry mourned the loss of Col Khalid Naji Wassak, a regiment commander, and “a number of heroic fighters … as a result of their response to a terrorist attack”.
Security forces repelled the attack but suffered several casualties in the process.
Maj Gen Tahseen Al Khafaji, spokesman for Iraq’s Joint Operations Command, later said four soldiers were killed alongside Col Wassak, with five wounded.
In a statement on a Telegram channel, ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it assailed the barracks with machineguns and grenades.
In the summer of 2014, ISIS overran large parts of Iraq and Syria, declaring a caliphate that spanned areas of both countries.
Iraqi forces, backed by a US-led international coalition, reclaimed all ISIS-held territory in Iraq in late 2017, after three years of fighting.
However, the terrorist group still carries out hit-and-run attacks, particularly in the vast desert regions of northern and western Iraq, near the border with Syria.
Still a threat
The attack serves as a reminder that ISIS still poses a threat, said the UK ambassador to Iraq, Stephen Hitchen.
“Every day, the bases of stability grow stronger in Iraq,” Mr Hitchen said on X.
The attack will not halt that progress but is a reminder that the threat endures, he said.
In a report published in January, the UN said there were “between 3,000 and 5,000" ISIS fighters across Iraq and Syria.
Baghdad is now looking to reduce the US-led international coalition that helped to defeat ISIS and wants it to remain in the country in an advisory role, saying local security forces can handle the threat themselves.
Despite the heavy losses the group suffered in Syria in 2019, the militants are still active and continue launching attacks.
Last month, ISIS opened fire on a military bus in the eastern countryside of Homs province, killing at least 28 Syrian soldiers and pro-government fighters.
In January, the group claimed responsibility for two suicide bombings in Iran as thousands of mourners gathered to commemorate the fourth anniversary of the death of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Quds Force commander Qassem Suleimani.
At least 91 people were killed and about 300 wounded in the attack.
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
Visit Abu Dhabi culinary team's top Emirati restaurants in Abu Dhabi
Yadoo’s House Restaurant & Cafe
For the karak and Yoodo's house platter with includes eggs, balaleet, khamir and chebab bread.
Golden Dallah
For the cappuccino, luqaimat and aseeda.
Al Mrzab Restaurant
For the shrimp murabian and Kuwaiti options including Kuwaiti machboos with kebab and spicy sauce.
Al Derwaza
For the fish hubul, regag bread, biryani and special seafood soup.
