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Suspected Islamic State gunmen kill 11 at military post outside Baghdad

Initial reports suggest the attack is the largest against Iraqi security forces in months.

Damaged military gear is scattered on the ground at the site of an Islamic State (IS) group attack, a day earlier, on a unit of Iraq's Hashed al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilisation Forces) in Mukaishefah, about 180km (110 miles) north of the capital, on May 3, 2020. - IS group remnants in Iraq are exploiting a coronavirus lockdown, coalition troop withdrawals and simmering political disputes to ramp up deadly attacks, according to analysts and intelligence officials, the bloodiest so far being an ambush early on M
Damaged military gear is scattered on the ground at the site of an Islamic State attack a day earlier on the Popular Mobilization Units in Mukaishefah, about 180km (110 miles) north of the capital, on May 3, 2020. — AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP via Getty Images

Eleven people were killed and eight wounded in a shootout with suspected Islamic State fighters at an Iraqi military position southwest of Baghdad on Sunday night.

The attack occurred at a lookout point occupied by Iraq's Popular Mobilization Units or Hashd al-Shaabi, at Al-Radwaniya south of Baghdad International Airport, Iraqi security sources told AFP.

Eight other people were wounded and sent to a hospital in Baghdad. An Iraqi security source told AFP that the attackers killed five PMU members at the monitoring tower, as well as six other people who had come to help defend the site.

Attackers in four vehicles used grenades and automatic weapons, AFP’s sources said. The National cited a PMU source as saying the attackers also used improvised explosive devices to target people rushing to the scene to assist.

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