IS attack on Iraq village kills 13

SULAIMANIYA, December 3

An attack by Islamic State (IS) militants on a village in northern Iraq on Friday killed three villagers and 10 Kurdish soldiers, officials in Iraq's Kurdish region said.

The attack took place in the Makhmour region, a hotbed for IS activity that sees regular attacks against Kurdish forces, Iraqi forces and often civilians. Kurdistan PM Masrour Barzani called for greater security cooperation between Iraqi Kurdish and security forces. Iraq officials and analysts have long blamed a lack of coordination along a stretch of territory claimed by both Baghdad and Erbil for Islamic State's continued ability to wage deadly attacks.

The IS controlled roughly a third of Iraq between 2014 and 2017, including the remote Makhmour region but also major cities including Mosul.

A loose coalition of US-led forces, Iraq and Kurdish troops and Iran-backed Shi'ite militias defeated the Sunni Muslim extremist group in 2017, but its members still roam about areas of northern Iraq and northeastern Syria. — Reuters

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