Baghdad, Dec 20 (IANS): A total of eight Iraqi civilians were killed and seven others injured in attacks by the Islamic State (IS) terror group in the eastern Diyala province, an official said.

On Monday evening, IS terrorists attacked a civilian car outside a village near the town of Khalis, some 70 km northeast of the capital Baghdad, the official told Xinhua news agency.

Later, the militants opened fire on villagers who gathered near the car, he added.

Iraqi security forces rushed to the scene and carried out a search for the attackers, a provincial security source told Xinhua.

Prime minister Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani, also the commander-in-chief of the Iraqi forces, sent a high-ranking delegation from the Diyala Operations Command to investigate the attacks.

Over the past months, Iraqi security forces have conducted operations against extremist militants to crack down on their intensified activities.

The security situation in Iraq has been improving since the defeat of the IS in 2017.

However, its remnants have since melted into urban centres, deserts, and rugged areas, carrying out frequent guerilla attacks against security forces and civilians.