BAGHDAD (Dispatches) – At least 11 people were killed and 30 more were injured in a gas station explosion in the Iraqi province of Babil, according to an Iranian Red Crescent official who said Iranian pilgrims were also among the deceased.
According to early reports, the explosion resulted in tens of deaths or injuries, said the CEO of the Red Crescent Society of the western Iranian province of Ilam, which shares a border with Iraq.
In another incident in the country, eleven Daesh terrorists were killed in airstrikes in western and eastern Iraq, the Iraqi military said.
Seven militants including a local leader were killed and a hideout was destroyed in airstrikes in al-Jallaiyat area in Anbar Province in western Iraq, the Iraqi Joint Operations Command (JOC) said in a media release, adding the airstrike was launched upon intelligence reports.
In Iraq’s eastern province of Diyala, the Iraqi aircraft acted on intelligence reports and conducted two airstrikes on a Daesh hideout on the bank of Himreen Lake, leaving three militants killed, the JOC said in a separate statement.
Another Daeh terrorist was killed in a confrontation with armed forces who searched the targeted hideout. The troops also destroyed three motorcycles, explosive devices, and barrels filled with explosives, it noted.
Over the past few months, Iraqi security forces have conducted crackdowns on the terrorists’ activities.
The security situation in Iraq has been improving since the defeat of the Daesh in 2017. However, its remnants have since melted into urban centers, deserts and rugged areas, carrying out frequent guerilla attacks against security forces and civilians.