Two Servicemen From Local Militia Killed in Explosion in Iraq’s Babil Province

BAGHDAD (Sputnik) - An explosion in the central Iraqi province of Babil claimed lives of two members of Hashd al-Shaabi militia (Popular Mobilization Forces), the militia's press service told Sputnik on Saturday.

"The Hashd al-Shaabi organization offers condolences… in connection with the death of two fighters on duty as a result of a blast of an explosive device on the route of their car in the north of Babil province," the press service said in a statement.

READ MORE: Explosions Heard Near US Embassy in Iraq After Trump's Visit — Reports

Earlier, an attack by militants of the Daesh* terrorist group against a convoy of Hashd al-Shaabi's Turkmen unit near the city of Makhmur in the north of the country left six militiamen killed and more than 30 injured.

On February 25, Iraqi security forces announced the start of a large-scale sweep operation of a 280-mile zone in the west of the country adjacent to the Syrian border. Iraqi parliament's First Deputy Speaker Hassan Kaabi called on the country's security agencies to take urgent measures to combat IS terrorists amid frequent kidnappings of civilians by militants in northwestern Iraq.

*Daesh (also known as ISIS/ISIL/IS) is a terrorist group banned in Russia