Four killed in suspected IS blast in western Iraq

A suspected Islamic State group bomb attack in western Iraq killed four people on Wednesday morning, according to local media.

They were travelling through Al-Rutba, in Iraq's western Anbar province on their way home when the vehicle was targeted, Shafaq News reported.

Three soldiers on leave and a civilian were killed instantly in the attack with several others injured, a source told the city.

Iraqi forces thwarted an attempted IS attack on a checkpoint in Kirkuk province late Tuesday, according to Rudaw.

On Sunday night, a member of Iraqi security forces was killed and several injured during another suspecting IS attack in Diyala province.

IS controlled large parts of Iraq and Syria from 2014,  following a rapid offensive by the militants.

They were defeated in Iraq in 2017 following a fight back by the Iraqi military and Kurdish forces, although the group remained present in Syria for a further two years.

While the Islamic State group has been defeated as a military force, militants continue attacks on civilians and security forces in Iraq via bombings and kidnappings.