ISIS ambushes Iraqi Shi'ite-led force, killing 27 fighters

Baghdad – Islamic State militants have ambushed a group of Iraq's Shiite-led paramilitary fighters, killing at least 27.

The Popular Mobilisation Forces, an umbrella group of mostly Shi'ite militias, said on Monday that the attack took place the previous night in the al-Saadounya area, southwest of the northern city of Kirkuk, when the paramilitaries were conducting overnight raids.

The PMF says the attackers were disguised in army uniforms. It says clashes lasted for at least two hours and that some of the militants were killed while others fled the area.

Brig. Gen. Yahya Rasool, a spokesperson for Iraqi military, blamed ISIS "sleeper cells" and said Iraqi forces were searching the area to find the perpetrators.

ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement on its Aamaq news agency.

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