Islamic State ambush kills 27 troops

BAGHDAD — Islamic State militants ambushed a group of Iraq’s Shiite-led paramilitary fighters, killing at least 27 about two months after Baghdad declared victory over the extremist group, officials said Monday

The Popular Mobilization Forces, an umbrella group of mostly Shiite militias, said in a statement that the attack took place outside the northern city of Kirkuk, where the paramilitaries were conducting overnight raids.

The attackers were disguised in army uniforms and manning a fake checkpoint, the statement said, adding that ensuing clashes lasted for at least two hours and that some of the militants were killed while others fled the area.

Brig. Gen. Yahya Rasool, an Iraqi military spokesman, blamed Islamic State “sleeper cells” and said Iraqi forces were searching the area to find the perpetrators.

The militant group claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement carried by its Aamaq news agency.

Hadi al-Amiri, the leader of the Badr Brigade, one of the most prominent Shiite militias, vowed “revenge.” He called on security forces to be vigilant, saying “the war against terrorism is not over yet.”

At least 11 of the slain troops were from the southern city of Basra, where a three-day mourning period was declared.

Iraq declared victory over Islamic State in December, after more than three years of heavy fighting. The group has been driven from all the territory it seized in the summer of 2014, but U.S. and Iraqi officials have said it is likely to continue launching insurgent-style attacks.