Eight Iraqi soldiers wounded in suicide bombing near Mosul amid countrywide anti-IS operations

Eight Iraqi army soldiers were wounded in a suicide attack near the city of Mosul in the north of the country, according to security sources.

The suicide bombing came as Iraqi forces conducted large-scale security operations in most of the country's provinces, The New Arab's Arabic-language service reported on Monday.

Part of operation "Resolute Will", the security forces' efforts were successful in bringing down armed cells belonging to the so-called Islamic State (IS) group.

Despite losing its caliphate, the remnants of the extremist organisation continue to carry out attacks in Iraq and Syria.

"A suicide bomber wearing an explosive belt blew himself up targeting army troops who were conducting a search operation in the Nuwaiket Mountains area, south of Mosul," said sources from the army operations command in Nineveh, the province where the incident occurred.

This "led to the wounding of two officers, one of them with the rank of lieutenant colonel, the other with the rank of first lieutenant, and six [regular] soldiers", the sources added.

"The security forces cordoned off the area and evacuated the injured to a nearby hospital to receive treatment."

The bombing near Mosul, which IS held from 2014 to 2017, is worrying as it is the first suicide attack in Nineveh province for a long time.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi on Sunday ordered that security readiness be raised and that police be deployed in areas where people gather during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.

Iraq's Joint Operations Command spokesman Major General Tahsin Al-Khafaji told The New Arab's Arabic language service on Thursday that a large-scale planned IS operation targeting many towns and cities during Ramadan had been foiled.

Security forces managed to trap several militants who were part of cells readying to carry out these attacks.