“A terrorist action targeted a military vehicle in the Ibn Sena region in al-Tarmia district, north of the capital city of Baghdad, causing the martyrdom of the commander of Brigade 59 of the Iraqi Army,” read the statement on Twitter.
No group has immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.
Iraqi Joint Operations Command identified the commander as Brigadier General Ali Hameed Ghaydan, reported state-owned Iraqi News Agency (INA).
Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi has ordered the intelligence agency and security forces to "immediately and urgently arrest those terrorist fighters who attacked the vehicle of General Brigadier Ali Hameed Ghaydan."
The Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF, Hashd al-Shaabi in Arabic) expressed their condolences on the death of the commander, saying he was killed after "coming under fire from terrorists."
The attack comes as Iraqi forces have carried out a number of offensives against the Islamic State (ISIS).
Iraqi and Kurdish forces announced the fourth phase of the “Heroes of Iraq” operation in Diyala province on Saturday. Previous phases covered areas in Anbar, Nineveh, Salahaddin, Kirkuk, and Samarra.
The US-led global coalition against ISIS is drawing down in Iraq. American troops have withdrawn from six bases in Iraq and this week British forces left Taji military camp in northern Baghdad.
ISIS has welcomed the withdrawal as an opportunity to spread its insurgency and has vowed to exploit the drawdown of coalition troops.
On Thursday, ISIS weekly propaganda al-Naba newspaper claimed its militants had carried out 23 attacks in Iraq between July 9 and 15 alone – mainly in Diyala. And on Telegram, the group claimed to have carried out two recent attacks against Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF, Hashd al-Shaabi in Arabic) in Diyala and Dijla areas, killing two fighters and injuring six others.
ISIS has not immediately commented on the killing of Brig. Gen. Ghaydan.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian was in Baghdad on Thursday and met with Kurdish leaders in Erbil on Friday. During a joint press conference, Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani thanked France for its role in the fight against ISIS, adding that “We still need France’s support and coalition to fight against ISIS.”
Kurdish officials have said multiple times that Iraq and Kurdistan Region still need foreign troops, but Baghdad has demanded otherwise. The Iraqi parliament passed a non-binding resolution in January calling on foreign forces to withdraw from the country.
Updated at 11:45 pm
