Three Iraqi soldiers were killed early Saturday in a suspected Daesh attack in the northern Nineveh province, according to a local police officer. Daesh militants armed with machine guns attacked the town of al-Khattab southeast of Mosul, said the officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief the media. He said the attackers were confronted by Iraqi army forces and the pro-government tribesmen. According to the officer, four other soldiers were injured in the attack. Daesh terrorists have in recent months escalated their attacks, especially in the area between Kirkuk, Salahuddin, and Diyala, known as the Triangle of Death. In 2017, Iraq declared victory over Daesh by reclaiming all territories the terrorist group controlled since the summer of 2014, which was estimated to be about a third of the country’s territory. The group, however, still maintains sleeper cells in large areas in Iraq and occasionally launches sporadic attacks.
