The Islamic State extremist group, on Thursday, claimed responsibility for an attack in Iraq’s Diyala province this week that left at least 11 people killed.
Militants attacked a village in Diyala’s al-Miqdadiya district, north-east of the capital Baghdad, on Tuesday evening.
Islamic State militants kidnapped six people in al-Rashad village, before killing them with machine guns.
Militants then attacked security forces arriving at the scene, according to the statement published on Wednesday through affiliated channels on Telegram.
After the attack, Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi vowed retribution and said that perpetrators will be arrested.
The Iraqi government declared military victory over Islamic State in December 2017 three years after the militia seized large swathes in the northern part of the country.
Islamic State operatives, however, continue to carry out attacks and kidnappings across Iraq.
Earlier this month, al-Kadhimi announced that Iraqi intelligence services arrested Sami Jasim Muhammad al-Jaburi, a close aide of former Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
dpa/NAN
