7 killed in two separate attacks in Iraq

By Mohamed Waleed and Hussein al-Amir

NINEVEH, Iraq

Four Iraqi civilians and three militants were killed in two separate attacks in Iraq on Monday, according to a local tribal commander.

Suspected Daesh militants raided the town of Ashkej, southwest of the northern Nineveh province, and shot dead four civilians, Hawwas Nayef, a commander of the pro-government Hashd al-Ashaeri militia, told Anadolu Agency.

He said the militants had fled toward the desert following the attack.

Meanwhile, Iraqi security forces killed three Daesh militants in an ambush 80 kilometers east of Baquba, the provincial capital of the eastern Diyala province, Police Captain Habib al-Shimari said.

Last December, officials in Baghdad declared that Daesh's military presence in Iraq had been all but dismantled over operations backed by the U.S.-led International Alliance. However, from time to time, Iraqi officials announce operations against Daesh-affiliated "sleeper cells" in certain parts of the country.