DIYALA, Iraq

A police officer was killed early Thursday -- and another four injured -- in an attack carried out by the Daesh terrorist group on a security checkpoint in Iraq’s eastern Diyala province.

“Daesh terrorists carried out an armed assault on a checkpoint in the Wadi al-Ausaj area of northeastern Diyala,” Police Captain Habib al-Shimmari told Anadolu Agency.

The attackers, the officer added, had managed to flee the scene thus eluding capture.

The relative frequency of Daesh attacks has increased in recent weeks in northeastern parts of Diyala province, of which Baqubah city serves as regional capital.

Last year, Iraqi officials said Daesh's military presence had been all but destroyed. It appears, however, that the terrorist group still maintains a limited presence in the northern and western parts of the country.

Reporting by  Hussein al-Amir:Writing by Mahmoud Barakat