Islamic State militants attack Iraqi Shiite militia, kill 6

An official with a mainly Shiite militia organisation in Iraq says Islamic State militants attacked a bus carrying the group's forces in northern Iraq, killing six militiamen and wounding 31 fighters.

The official from the government-sanctioned Popular Mobilization Forces told The Associated Press that the Wednesday night ambush took place near the town of Makhmour, south of the northern city of Mosul.

The official says the bus was en route from Mosul to the oil-rich city of Kirkuk. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to talk to reporters. Although IS was declared defeated in Iraq in 2017, the group's sleepers cells are still carrying out deadly attacks in northern and western Iraq.