UPDATE - Death toll from Daesh/ISIS terror attack in Iraq rises to 13

UPDATES WITH DEATH TOLL

By Talal Arif

ERBIL, Iraq (AA) - The death toll from the Daesh/ISIS terror attack in northern Iraq rose to 13, according to local officials on Friday.

A total of 13 people – 10 Peshmerga soldiers of the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) and three civilians – were killed in the terror attack by Deash/ISIS in the village of Khadirjija, located 50 kilometers (31 miles) south of Erbil, said Erbil Governor Umit Hosnav in a written statement.

On Thursday evening, a source in the Peshmerga forces told Anadolu Agency that the attack on the village of Khadirjija had killed three sons of the village's chief.

Last Saturday, Daesh/ISIS militants launched an armed attack on a Peshmerga post in the Koljo district of the Garmyan administration in the KRG, killing six people.

Attacks blamed on Daesh/ISIS fighters have escalated in Iraq in recent months, especially in the provinces of Salahuddin, Diyala, and Kirkuk.

In 2017, Iraq declared victory over Daesh/ISIS by reclaiming all of its territories -- about a third of the country's area -- invaded by the terror group in 2014.

But the terrorist group still maintains sleeper cells in large areas of Iraq and periodically launches attacks. The Iraqi army continues to carry out frequent operations against the group in parts of the country.