ISIS militants kill 10 in co-ordinated attack in Iraq

The assault took place near the central city of Samarra

A policeman signalling to vehicles passing through a security checkpoint enforcing a curfew due to the coronavirus pandemic in Iraq's southern city of Basra on April 30, 2020. AFP

ISIS militants killed at least 10 Iraqi militiamen in a co-ordinated assault overnight near the central city of Samarra, security officials said on Saturday, adding to concerns the extremist group that once controlled large areas of the country is staging a comeback.

The military and the Popular Mobilisation Forces, an umbrella group of mostly Shiite militias allied with the government, confirmed the attack in separate statements.

It was the deadliest of a series of attacks in recent weeks that come as authorities are grappling with a worsening economic crisis and trying to contain a coronavirus outbreak.

Iraq declared victory over ISIS in December 2017 after a costly three-year campaign. At its height, the group controlled about a third of Iraq and neighbouring Syria, which it governed in accordance with a harsh and violent interpretation of Islamic law.

In recent months, remnants of ISIS have exploited security gaps resulting from a territorial dispute between Iraq's central government and the autonomous Kurdish region in the north, as well as the withdrawal of US forces in a planned drawdown.

Last week, a suicide bomber targeted an intelligence office in the northern city of Kirkuk, wounding at least three security forces in the first such attack in months.

The PMF said six of its fighters were killed by direct fire late on Friday in the village of Mekeeshfa, south of Tikrit. Another three fighters were killed by a roadside bomb as reinforcements were called in. A 10th militiaman was shot dead in the nearby village of Tal Al Dahab.

The co-ordinated attack occurred about 60 miles (95 kilometres) north of the capital Baghdad.