Booby-trap blast kills 8 in Iraq village seized from Islamic State

Eight members of an Iraqi paramilitary unit died Sunday in a booby-trap explosion in a school near the city of Mosul.

Eight members of an Iraqi paramilitary unit died Sunday in a booby-trap explosion in a school near the city of Mosul that was retaken from jihadists, a security official said.

In this July 11, 2017 photo, airstrikes target Islamic State positions on the edge of the Old City a day after Iraq's prime minister declared "total victory" in Mosul, Iraq. (AP File Photo)

In the latest example of the dangers left behind by retreating Islamic State group members, Jabbar al-Maamuri, a commander of the unit of tribal fighters, told AFP that 13 others were wounded in the blast at the school that was being used as a training centre.

He said the school in Majarine village 20 kilometres (12 miles) west of Mosul had been mined by the jihadists, who were ousted from the city at the end of August by a coalition of pro-government forces.

The village itself was seized in early July as Iraqi forces advanced on Mosul.

In another such incident in newly recaptured areas, six members of the Hashem al-Shaabi paramilitary unit were killed in an explosion Saturday in Akashat in the western province of Anbar, security sources said.