Hundreds of mourners attended funerals in a village north of Iraq's capital Saturday for eight people killed in attacks claimed by the Islamic State jihadist group, an AFP reporter said.

The attacks took place on Friday and killed six members of the same family, including two women, along with a lawyer and a policeman.

Witnesses said men in military uniform had carried out the three attacks on the victims' homes in the village of Al-Bou Dor.

The Iraqi military said it was a revenge attack ordered by a village resident who had been driven out by neighbours who accused him of being an IS member.

An IS statement said those targeted on Friday had been spying for Hashed al-Shaabi, a Shiite-led coalition force that played a key role in 2017 in ending the jihadists' control of swathes of Iraqi territory.

Iraq declared IS territorially defeated in December 2017 after a three-year fight aided by US-led coalition air strikes.

IS attacks in urban areas have since dramatically dropped, but Iraqi troops have continued to battle sleeper cells in the country's mountainous and desert areas.

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Pope thanks Iraqis for visit, saying they deserve peace
Vatican City (AFP) March 10, 2021
Pope Francis thanked the people of Iraq on Wednesday for allowing him to make his historic trip to the country, saying Iraqis deserve to live in peace. In his weekly audience, the 84-year-old pope reflected on the packed three-day programme that saw him travel throughout Iraq last weekend, offering encouragement to persecuted Christians and extending a hand to Shiite Muslims. "After this visit, my soul is filled with gratitude - gratitude to God and to all those who made it possible," he said, ... read more