Lt. Gen. Saad Harbiye, Kirkuk operations commander, told Anadolu Agency that two other soldiers were injured when a roadside bomb targeted a patrol vehicle belonging to the Iraqi army near the town of Sergaran in the Dibis district of northwestern Kirkuk.

Security forces have launched an operation against the terrorists in the region following the attack, Harbiye said.

In 2017, the Iraqi army and Kurdish Peshmerga forces -- with the help of a U.S.-led military coalition -- recovered most if not all the territories lost to IS in 2014.

Although officials in Baghdad say IS presence in the country has been largely eradicated, the terrorist group has continued to stage sporadic attacks in Nineveh, Kirkuk, Diyala, Saladin and Anbar provinces.

Reporter’s code: 50101