ERBIL — An explosion caused by an improvised explosive device (IED) left five Iraqi soldiers wounded on Tuesday night in the disputed Kurdish town of Khanaqin, north of Diyala province. 

Awat Bamoyi, a Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) representative in the region, told BasNews that the blast hit an armored vehicle of the Iraqi Army forces at the entrance of Gulala (Jalawla) district. 

The explosion followed an attack by Islamic State (IS) militant in the same area, Bamoyi explained. 

The areas on the provincial borders of Diyala, Kirkuk, and Salahaddin have witnessed a significant surge in terrorist attacks the past two weeks. 

Hours before the assault in Gulala, BasNews reported that IS militants had attacked  Mansoor village in Daquq district, south of Kirkuk. Local sources said the residents of the village took up arms and warded off the IS insurgents until the arrival of security forces.