Bomb blast kills 2 soldiers in eastern Iraq

By Hussein al-Amir

DIYALA, Iraq

Two Iraqi soldiers were killed and five others injured in a bomb blast Sunday in eastern Iraq, according to a local police officer.

An explosive device detonated as a group of soldiers were clearing landmines in al-Mukhisa village, 30 kilometers northeast of Baquba district of Diyala province, Captain Habib al-Shammari told Anadolu Agency.

The explosion killed two soldiers and injured five others, he said.

Daesh terrorists have stepped up attacks against government forces in northern and eastern Iraq in recent weeks.

In late October, the Iraqi army, backed by U.S.-led coalition warplanes, launched a massive offensive to recapture Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city, from Daesh.

The terrorist group has overrun Mosul -- along vast swathes of territory in northern and western Iraq -- in 2014.