BAGHDAD, May 1 (Xinhua) -- At least four soldiers were killed in an overnight attack by extremist Islamic State (IS) militants north of the Iraqi capital, the Iraqi military said on Saturday.
Two others were wounded by a roadside bomb that the militants had planted and detonated in the Tarmiyah area, some 30 km north of Baghdad, the Iraqi Joint Operations Command said in a statement, citing initial reports.
Reinforcement troops backed by helicopters have been searching the area for hours since early morning for the attackers, according to the statement.
Meanwhile, a local police source told Xinhua that the bomb attack was followed by a fierce clash between IS militants and the troops and that the death toll could rise.
The vast agricultural and rugged areas have witnessed a surge in IS activities in the past months, despite repeated military operations to hunt down the militants.
The security situation in Iraq has been improving since Iraqi security forces fully defeated IS militants across the country late in 2017.
However, deadly incidents still occur sporadically in the war-ravaged country as IS remnants have since retreated into urban areas or deserts and rugged areas, waging frequent guerilla attacks against security forces and civilians.
