By Hussein al-Amir
DIYALA, Iraq (AA) – The Daesh terrorist group on Monday killed four civilian hostages in Iraq’s eastern Diyala province, according to a local police source.
“Militants last night abducted four civilians in Diyala’s city of Khanaqin,” Police Captain Habib al-Shimmar, told Anadolu Agency.
Monday morning, he said, security forces had discovered the hostages’ decapitated bodies on the city’s outskirts.
Recent months have seen repeated attacks by Daesh terrorists on security personnel stationed in northern and eastern Iraq.
Last year, officials in Baghdad declared that Daesh's military presence in the country had been all but destroyed following a three-year conflict with the army.
Nevertheless, Iraqi security forces continue to carry out sporadic operations aimed at eliminating the group’s lingering presence in certain parts of the country.
