The Islamic State group killed 27 members of a paramilitary group in an ambush in Iraq, the pro-government force said Monday, underlining the threat still posed by the jihadists despite Baghdad's declaration of victory. IS members disguised as soldiers attacked a Hashed al-Shaabi unit in the Hawija region about 300 kilometres (185 miles) north of Baghdad on Sunday evening, the auxiliary force said in a statement.

"The attackers were dressed in military uniforms and during the fighting 27 of our heroes were martyred," said the Hashed, a key partner of the government in the battle against IS. The extremist group, which has suffered a string of battlefield defeats in Syria and Iraq, claimed responsibility for the attack in an online statement.

The Hashed said the unit was conducting operations to "arrest terrorists and dismantle sleeping cells" around the city, in the province of Kirkuk, A Hashed official who asked to remain anonymous told AFP the jihadists, disguised as soldiers, had set up a checkpoint close to Hawija.

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2018