10 Iraqi soldiers killed in attack in Baghdad's north

BAGHDAD

Ten Iraqi soldiers were killed and others wounded Friday in a suspected attack by the militant group Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, or ISIL, in the north of the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, police said.

An Iraqi military convoy heading from Baghdad to the northern Iraqi province of Salahuddin was attacked "by an armed group believed to be ISIL militants," Iraqi police captain Youssef Mazroui told the Anadolu Agency.

He said the attack left other soldiers wounded and damaged seven military vehicles.

Militants from ISIL also took control of parts of the eastern province of Diyala late Thursday, according to an Iraqi security source.

"ISIL militants took control of the two villages of Tabj and Bahiza after clashes with Iraqi army and police forces, north of Jalula, and another 12 villages in Saadia," said the source. 

The Saadia district lies northeast of Diyala's Sunni-majority provincial capital of Baquba, just 65 kilometers from the Iraqi capital.

Kurdish Peshmerga forces took control Friday of the village of Jalula following abrupt withdrawal of both Iraqi army and police from the village, as well from the nearby Saadia region late Thursday night, revealed a Kurdish security source.

Peshmerga forces are the army of the Kurdish regional government in northern Iraq.

Diyala provincial police chief Jamil al-Shammari had earlier denied claims Thursday that ISIL militants controlled some areas of the province and had seized an Iraqi army military helicopter.

There are more than 25 clans in Diyala representing both Sunni and Shia Muslims, in the desert linking Diyala and northern Salahuddin and Kirkuk provinces.

In Anbar, the largest province in Iraq, Iraqi army and security forces announced in a joint statement that they had killed six "armed terrorist and destroyed four of their vehicles."

Interior Ministry spokesperson Saad Maan said in a separate statement that "border guards in coordination with Iraqi air forces foiled the attempt of an Armed group to cross borders in Damlogh region in Anbar."

"Iraqi forces had inflicted great losses on the enemy," the statement said.

Both statements didn't specify the identity of the armed groups.

Northern and western Iraq have been left in chaos since ISIL and affiliated groups seized the city of Mosul city in Iraq's north, where Iraqi troops have withdrawn from their posts.

On Wednesday, they seized the city of Tikrit -- 140 kilometers northwest of Baghdad -- and several towns and regions have fallen under their control since as they threaten to move south towards Baghdad. The militant group has held control of western Anbar province since January.

ISIL was established shortly after the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 and was most recognizably known as al-Qaeda in Iraq, under the leadership of Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.

Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri cut ties with ISIL in February 2014 after a dispute with another militant group, Jabhat al-Nusra.

Iraq has seen a marked increase in sectarian violence between Sunni and Shia Muslims in recent months, which the Iraqi government blames on ISIL.

www.aa.com.tr/en