Islamic State group IED blast kills one Iraqi soldier north of Baghdad

PHOTO CAPTION: Illustrative photo — An Iraqi soldier fires from a barrier on a live-fire range at Taji Military Complex, Iraq, Dec. 16, 2019. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Alec Dionne via U.S. Defense Visual Information Distribution Service)

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A roadside bomb exploded near an Iraqi army patrol north of Baghdad on Friday, killing one soldier and wounding four others, the defence ministry said in a statement.

The attack took place in the town of Tarmiya, 25 km (15 miles) north of Baghdad, the ministry said.

Islamic State formally claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it killed one soldier and wounded nine others, the group said in a statement.

Iraq’s Defence Minister Thabit al-Abbasi reached the area where the attack took place and ordered an investigation, the ministry's statement said.

Despite the defeat of the Islamic State militant group in 2017, remnants of the group switched to hit-and-run attacks against government forces in different parts of Iraq.



(Reporting by Ahmed Rasheed; Additional reporting by Enas Alashray in Cairo; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)