2 die in mortar attack in Sharqat
 Salahuddin (IraqiNews.com) Two policemen were killed and 11 civilians were wounded late Sunday in a mortar attack in Sharqat, Salahuddin, a security source said Monday to AlMada Press.
The bombing occurred near the precinct’s police station, according to the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, blaming Islamic State militants, who control the eastern section of the province, for the attack.
The Iraqi Joint Operations Command said in June that the whole region of Sharqat was liberated from ISIS. But it has become a group tactic to target areas it was forced to give up since Iraqi government forces and volunteer militias launched a campaign to free Iraqi cities from the group’s hold.
Violence surged in Iraq since ISIS occupied wide regions of the country in 2014. But the group is currently losing ground and is fighting a decisive battle to defend its last bastion in Iraq at the city of Mosul.
Some observers and security officials say the group tends to attack areas other than Mosul in an attempt to divert security forces attention from the city and make up for defeats there.
4 kops die in Samarra
 Salahuddin (IraqiNews.com) Four police agents were killed on Monday in an attack by Islamic State militants in Samarra, Salahuddin, said a government official.
The officers were killed in the “attack that targeted a checkpoint near the Malwiya (Sprial) Minaret ancient site in Samarra,” Gamal Akkab, media official at Salahuddin council, told Rudaw agency.
“Security forces imposed a curfew in the area immediately,” he stated.
Since 2014, violence surged in Iraq with the Islamic State militants taking over wide areas of the country, and the United Nations said earlier this month that 58000 people died since then. UN statistics say 3150 Iraqis were either killed or wounded in violence during October alone.
Late Sunday, also in Salahuddin province, two policemen were killed and 11 civilians were wounded in a mortar attack in Sharqat, which was again blamed on ISIS.
ISIS is currently struggling to defend Mosul, its last strategic foothold in Iraq, against continuous, successful advancements by Iraqi security forces and popular militias. With attacks carried out at several areas other than Mosul, observers and security officials believe the extremist group is trying to divert attention from its defeats in Mosul as well as to distract the focus of the assaulting security troops.
ISIS Turbans including Mad Bombers die in Salahuddin
 Salahuddin (IraqiNews.com) Iraqi security forces killed all members of the Islamic State extremist group who sneaked into Samarra district, in southern Salahuddin, and a number of police officers were either killed or wounded while repulsing the attack, Alsumaria reported on Monday.
The media outlet stated, “Security forces managed to foil the attempt of the Islamic State to sneak into the district of Samarra, in southern Salahuddin Province,” pointing out that, “The [security] forces were able to kill all the militants, including two suicide bombers.”
“The incident also resulted in the killing and wounding of a number of police officers and the guard of Salahuddin MP Sheikh Kamel Abbas,” the outlet added.
Earlier today, a number of ISIS members tries to sneak into al-Malweya area, north of Samarra in Salahuddin Province, in order to approach the center of the district, but their attack was foiled by security forces in the district.
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