BAQUBA, Iraq, April 17 (Xinhua) -- Three Islamic State (IS) militants were killed Tuesday and five Iraqi soldiers wounded in separate attacks in the Iraqi volatile province of Diyala, a provincial security source said.
A paramilitary Hashd Shaabi force ambushed a local leader of IS group and killed him in Imam Weis area in north of the provincial capital Baquba, some 65 km northeast of Baghdad, Major Ali al-Sa'di from the provincial police told Xinhua.
Separately, two IS militants were killed when a roadside bomb they tried to plant it detonated in Hawi area, some 90 km north of Baquba, Sa'di said.
Also in the province, a roadside bomb went off near an army vehicle in the town of Buhruz, about 10 km south of Baquba, destroying the vehicle and wounding five soldiers aboard, Sa'di added.
Despite repeated military operations in Diyala province, remnants of IS militants were still hiding in rugged areas near the border with Iran in eastern Diyala, as well as the sprawling areas extending from western part of the province to Himreen mountainous area in north Baquba.
The militants are still capable of carrying out attacks against civilians and the security forces despite operations from time to time to hunt them down.
