IS murder Iraqi family serving in Hashd al-Shaabi militia

Islamic State group militants have murdered five members of the same family at a checkpoint outside Baghdad on Saturday, an official said.

The militants came from nearby remote mountains to attack a checkpoint in Baiji, around 200 kilometres (125 miles) north of the capital Baghdad, the official told AFP.

"A group of Daesh (IS) fighters came from the Hamrin mountains, crossed the Tigris river after midnight and attacked the checkpoint at the entrance to the village of Albu Juwari, north of Baiji," he said.

Five members of the family were killed in the attack, while a sixth was in a critical condition, he said.

They were members of a tribal militia operating under the umbrella of the Hashd al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilisation) paramilitary force.

IS once held huge areas of northern Syria and Iraq, until last year.

An Iraqi government offensive - backed by US air strikes - managed to fight back the jihadis with the participation of the Hashd al-Shaabi, and captured the group's self-declared capital in Iraq, Mosul.

IS still maintain a presence in Iraq, and have continued to use sparsely populated areas - such as the Hamrin mountains - to launch attacks on civilians and security forces.