Civilian killed, 7 injured in Iraq's Diyala violence

A civilian was killed and seven people injured on Tuesday across Iraq's volatile province of Diyala northeast of Baghdad, provincial police source said.

A civilian was killed and three others wounded when unknown gunmen opened fire on an orchard in northern the provincial capital city of Baquba, some 65 km northeast of Baghdad, the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

In a separate incident, three Iraqi soldiers and an officer were injured by a roadside bomb explosion near their patrol in the town of Balad Ruz, some 30 km southeast of Baquba, the source said.

Separately, Iraqi security forces launched security operations across Diyala, detaining 13 suspects and defusing four roadside bombs, he added.

Diyala province stretches from the eastern edges of the capital to the Iranian border. It has long been a stronghold for al-Qaida militants and other insurgent groups since the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 despite repeated U.S. and Iraqi military operations there.

Source: Xinhua