Six Iraqis killed in Daesh ambush near Mosul: Official

By Ali Mukarrem Garip

MOSUL, Iraq

Six people, including two members of Iraq’s Hashd al-Ashaeri militia, were killed Monday in an ambush carried out by the Daesh terrorist group near the city of Mosul, according to a local official.

Nurettin Kaplan, the deputy head of Mosul’s local council, told Anadolu Agency that the terrorists had set up a fake security checkpoint south of the city.

According to Kaplan, the terrorists -- disguised as Iraqi security personnel -- killed the six individuals after detaining them from the checkpoint.

“Daesh terrorists are stopping vehicles passing through the checkpoints with a view to detaining and killing security personnel,” he said.

He went on to note that two of those killed Monday had been members of Iraq’s Hashd al-Ashaeri, a Sunni-Arab fighting force affiliated with the Iraqi army.

Last December, officials in Baghdad declared that Daesh’s military presence had been all but destroyed.

It appears, however, that the notorious terrorist group still maintains an active presence in parts of northern and western Iraq.