BAGHDAD, July 21 (Xinhua) -- Two soldiers were killed and three wounded in an attack by militants of the extremist Islamic State (IS) group in Iraq's Salahudin province in the north of Baghdad, a provincial police source said on Wednesday.
The attack took place late on Tuesday night when IS militants attacked an army base in the rugged area of Mteibijah in the eastern part of the province, leaving two soldiers killed and three wounded, Col. Mohammed al-Bazi told Xinhua
IS militants withdrew after reinforcement troops arrived at the scene, al-Bazi said without saying whether the extremist militants sustained casualties.
Mteibijah area has long been a redoubt of IS militants despite repeated anti-IS military operations in the sprawling rugged areas in the eastern part of Salahudin province, which extends to the neighboring Diyala province and the nearby Himreen mountainous area.
The security situation in Iraq has been improving since Iraqi security forces fully defeated the IS militants across the country late in 2017.
However, IS remnants have since melted in urban areas or deserts and rugged areas, carrying out frequent guerilla attacks against security forces and civilians.
