BAGHDAD (Dispatches) – Daesh terrorists killed 12 civilians and wounded at least six in two separate attacks in Iraq, apparently taking advantage of a sandstorm that sharply reduced visibility across the country, security officials said Tuesday.
The attacks occurred on Monday evening in Kirkuk and Diyala provinces, where farmers came under fire while harvesting their crops.
The Iraqi Security Media Cell said in a statement that six civilians were killed in the attack in the village of Sami Asi, south of the city of Kirkuk. The Kurdish news network Rudaw said after the killings, an Iraqi federal police force that arrived on the scene was ambushed and three policemen were killed.
Earlier, Daesh launched an attack in Diyala’s town of Gulala, killing six residents, two Iraqi security officials said.
The terrorist group claimed responsibility late Monday for the Kirkuk attack, claiming it killed five Shias in their agricultural fields in al-Rashad area in Kirkuk and set fire to five vehicles. It said its militants clashed with a supporting unit from the federal police and destroyed one of their vehicles.
Daesh overran large parts of Iraq and Syria in 2014. The group was defeated in 2017 after a years-long war spearheaded by local forces and assistance from Iran and Russia. But its remnants continue to carry out hit-and-run attacks through sleeper cells across both countries.
In another development, an armed unmanned aerial vehicle struck a major base at Baghdad International Airport, where American military forces and trainers are stationed, but there were no immediate reports of damage or casualties.
The Arabic-language al-Sumaria television network, citing a security source, reported that the attack targeted the Victory Base, and took place in the early hours of Tuesday.
Sabereen News, a Telegram news channel associated with Iraqi Popular Mobilization Units —better known by the Arabic name Hashd al-Sha’abi — reported that sirens went off, warning of an attack on the U.S-run base. Ambulance sirens could also be head.
Russia’s Arabic-language RT Arabic television news network reported that counter-rocket, artillery and mortar (C-RAM) systems operated by the U.S.-led coalition forces could intercept and shoot down the drone.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack yet, which is the latest in a series of assaults that have targeted U.S. occupation forces over the past few months.
Anti-American sentiments have been on the rise in Iraq. Iraqi lawmakers have approved a bill that requires the government to end the presence of all foreign military forces led by the U.S. in the country.