By Hussein al-Amir

BAGHDAD

Three pro-government fighters were killed in a roadside bomb blast Monday in Iraq’s northern province of Kirkuk, according to a local police officer.

The device exploded as a vehicle carrying three fighters of Al-Hashd Al-Ashaeri was passing in the Dibis district, 45 kilometers west of Kirkuk city, Police Captain Hamed al-Obeidi, told Anadolu Agency.

The officer suggested that the roadside bomb was planted by the Daesh terrorist group.

Al-Hashd Al-Ashaeri is a group of Sunni tribal fighters which operates under the umbrella of the Shia-predominant Al-Hashd Al-Shaabi fighting force.

Last December, officials in Baghdad declared that the Daesh terrorist group's military presence in Iraq had been all but dismantled after a three-year war.

However, from time to time, Iraqi officials announce operations against Daesh-affiliated "sleeper cells" in certain parts of the country.