Men carry coffin of an Iraqi soldier at the Wadi al-Salam cemetery, Arabic for "Peace Valley", who was killed in an attack by Islamic State militants on an army post in a rural area between Diyala and Salahuddin provinces, during the funeral in Najaf, Iraq, May 14, 2024. REUTERS/Alaa Al-Marjani
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Islamic State claimed responsibility on Tuesday for an attack on Monday targeting an army post in northern Iraq which security sources said had killed a commanding officer and four soldiers.
The attack took place between Diyala and Salahuddin provinces, a rural area that remains a hotbed of activity for militant cells years after Iraq declared final victory over the extremist group in 2017.
Security forces repelled the attack, the defence ministry said on Monday in a statement mourning the loss of a colonel and a number of others from the regiment. The security sources said five others had also been wounded.
Islamic State said in a statement on Telegram it had targeted the barracks with machine guns and grenades.
Iraq has seen relative security stability in recent years after the chaos of the 2003-U.S.-led invasion and years of bloody sectarian conflict that followed.
(Reporting by Adam Makary and Jaidaa Taha; Editing by Jonathan Oatis and Alison Williams)
