Shafaq News/ An Iraqi army officer was killed in clashes with ISIS militants in the Khan Bani Saad area, located southwest of Diyala Governorate, on Saturday, a security source reported.

A security source told Shafaq News Agency that the officer, a lieutenant colonel who served as the commander of a Diyala police company, was killed during an operation in the Arab Jabbar area and the orchards of Al-Ayt in the Khan Bani Saad district.

The source added that three police personnel were also injured in the operation, and clashes with the militants continue along the banks of the Diyala River.

“A high-level security delegation, including the Commander of the Ground Forces and Deputy Chief of Staff of the Army Jamil Al-Shammari, along with other senior officers, has arrived in Diyala following the recent development.”

The Diyala Operations Command launched combing operations in the Arab Jabbar area and along the banks of the Diyala River on Saturday morning.

Since then, Iraqi security forces have been engaged in armed confrontations with ISIS elements in the Khan Bani Saad area. The area witnessed similar clashes on Friday, resulting in the deaths of two ISIS members, one of whom was a suicide bomber wearing an explosive vest.