Over dozen dead as bomb attack hits Iraq’s Anbar province

Iraqi security forces and civilians inspect the site of a deadly bomb attack in Baghdad, Iraq, on May 30, 2017. (Photo by AP)

More than a dozen people have lost their lives and several others sustained injuries when members of the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group carried out a bomb attack in Iraq’s troubled western province of Anbar.

A provincial security source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said two Daesh terrorists, wearing explosive belts, attacked a joint military camp of pro-government Popular Mobilization Units, better known by the Arabic name Hashd al-Sha’abi, and army soldiers in the city of al-Karmah, located 16 kilometers northeast of Fallujah, on Thursday afternoon, Arabic-language Shafaaq news agency reported.

The explosions killed two army soldiers and wounded two others. Fifteen Hashd al-Sha’abi fighters also lost their lives and seven others suffered injuries in the act of terror.

The development came only three days after Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi formally declared victory over Daesh extremists in Mosul, which served as the terrorists’ main urban stronghold in the conflict-ridden Arab country.

In the run-up to Mosul’s liberation, Iraqi army soldiers and volunteer fighters from the Popular Mobilization Units had made sweeping gains against Daesh since launching the Mosul operation on October 17, 2016.

The Iraqi forces took control of eastern Mosul in January after 100 days of fighting, and launched the battle in the west on February 19.

An estimated 862,000 people have been displaced from Mosul ever since the battle to retake the city began nine months ago. A total of 195,000 civilians have also returned, mainly to the liberated areas of eastern Mosul.

Iraqi troops rescue Izadi family from Daesh in Mosul

Meanwhile, an unnamed Iraqi police official said government forces had rescued a family of Izadi Kurds from the clutches of Daesh terrorists in Mosul.

Iraqi forces patrol a street in west Mosul on July 12, 2017 a few days after the government's announcement of the liberation of the embattled city from Daesh terrorists. (Photo by AFP)

The source noted that two soldiers sustained gunshot wounds during the rescue operation and were sent to a hospital, where doctors described their injuries as non-life-threatening.

The source went on to say that sporadic clashes are going on in several areas of Mosul as Iraqi government forces are fighting to eliminate the last pockets of resistance from Daesh terrorists.