4 civilians killed in Iraq’s Diyala

By Hussein al-Amir

DIYALA, Iraq (AA) – Four Iraqi civilians were killed in a spate of attacks in the eastern Diyala province on Wednesday, according to a local police officer.

An explosive device exploded in Hawd al-Waqf town, east of the provincial capital Baquba, killing one person, police captain Habib al-Shimari told Anadolu Agency.

Gunmen also shot dead two more civilians in the same town, he said.

An Iraqi farmer was also killed and another was abducted by unidentified gunmen north of Baquba, according to the same source.

No group claimed responsibility for the attacks, but al-Shimari suggested that the Daesh terrorist group was likely behind the violence.

Last December, officials in Baghdad declared that Daesh's military presence in the country had been all but destroyed. The group, however, still appears to maintain a limited presence in northern and western Iraq.