Two Islamic State (IS) militants and three civilians were killed on Wednesday evening in separate attacks in Iraq's eastern province of Diyala, official and security sources said.
In one attack, a security force killed two IS militants in an ambush inside an orchard located near the town of Abbara in northeast of the provincial capital Baquba, some 65 km northeast of Baghdad, mayor of the twon Shakir al-Tamimi told Xinhua.
The ambush was based on intelligence reports and cooperation of the villagers, al-Tamimi said.
Separately, three civilians were shot dead in an attack, believed to be carried out by IS militants, on a civilian car in Halwan area, some 165 km northeast of Baghdad, Mohammed al-Tamimi from Diyala Operations Command said.
Iraqi security forces rushed to the scene and launched an investigation to identify the attackers who fled to nearby orchards, he said.
Despite repeated military operations in Diyala Province, remnants of IS militants are still hiding in some rugged areas near the border with Iran, and in the sprawling areas extending from the western part of the province to the Hamreen mountain range in the north of Baquba.
The security situation in Iraq has been dramatically improved after Iraqi security forces fully defeated the extremist IS militants across the country late in 2017.
