Bomb attacks in Iraq kill 6 policemen

Baghdad, Sep 18 (IANS) At least six police officers were killed on Tuesday and eight were wounded in two bomb attacks in Iraq's Saladin province, a day after government forces launched an operation against militants in the area, officials said.

Police Lt. Col. Mohamed Ali Ibrahim said the first explosive device killed five officers and wounded four as they were travelling in a police vehicle in the Al-Fatha area, 50 km north of the provincial capital Tikrit, Efe news reported.

In the second incident, one policeman was killed and four were injured by an explosive device at a guard post at a water treatment plant in Al-Shirqat.

Iraqi security forces have recently carried out several operations in Saladin province against alleged cells of the Islamic State terror organization.

The security forces on Monday began the latest push to clear militants out of the Tigris river basin from Al-Fatha to Al-Shirqat where attacks have lately been on the rise.

On September 10, an Iraqi policeman and eight alleged IS members were killed in a shootout in Al-Shirqat.

The Iraqi government had declared in December that the country was totally liberated from the IS, but during August 90 Iraqi civilians were killed and 117 wounded in terror attacks or armed conflict.

(This story has not been edited by Social News XYZ staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)