12 civilians shot dead in northern Iraq

By Hussein al-Amir

BAGHDAD (AA) – Twelve people of the same family were killed in a suspected Daesh attack in northern Iraq on Saturday, according to an Iraqi security official.

Suspected Daesh militants raided a house in al-Farhatiah town in the Saladin province and shot dead all residents inside, Lieutenant Numan al-Jabouri, told Anadolu Agency.

Several women and children were among the victims, he said.

The Daesh terrorist group has yet to claim responsibility for the attack.

Last December, officials in Baghdad declared that Daesh's military presence in the country had been all but dismantled following a grueling three-year conflict.

Iraqi security forces, however, still mount frequent operations against what they describe as Daesh “sleeper cells”.