Roadside Bomb Kills 3 Soldiers in Northern Iraq

The sun sets behind palm trees near city of Al-Qasim in Iraq's Babylon governorate on November 15, 2024. (Photo by Karar Jabbar / AFP)
The sun sets behind palm trees near city of Al-Qasim in Iraq's Babylon governorate on November 15, 2024. (Photo by Karar Jabbar / AFP)
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Roadside Bomb Kills 3 Soldiers in Northern Iraq

The sun sets behind palm trees near city of Al-Qasim in Iraq's Babylon governorate on November 15, 2024. (Photo by Karar Jabbar / AFP)
The sun sets behind palm trees near city of Al-Qasim in Iraq's Babylon governorate on November 15, 2024. (Photo by Karar Jabbar / AFP)

A roadside bomb targeting an Iraqi army vehicle killed three soldiers in northern Iraq on Sunday, police and hospital sources said.

The attack near the town of Tuz Khurmatu, about 175 km north of the capital Baghdad, critically wounded two others.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, but ISIS militants are active in the area, said two Iraqi security officials.

Despite the group's defeat in 2017, remnants continue to conduct attacks against government forces.



Trump Says Talks on Middle East Are 'Progressing'

President Donald Trump speaks to reporters next to Air Force One after arriving back at Joint Base Andrews, Md., Sunday, Feb. 2, 2025. (AP)
President Donald Trump speaks to reporters next to Air Force One after arriving back at Joint Base Andrews, Md., Sunday, Feb. 2, 2025. (AP)
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Trump Says Talks on Middle East Are 'Progressing'

President Donald Trump speaks to reporters next to Air Force One after arriving back at Joint Base Andrews, Md., Sunday, Feb. 2, 2025. (AP)
President Donald Trump speaks to reporters next to Air Force One after arriving back at Joint Base Andrews, Md., Sunday, Feb. 2, 2025. (AP)

US President Donald Trump said Sunday that talks with Israel and other countries on the Middle East were "progressing," ahead of discussions in Washington on the next phase of the Gaza ceasefire.

"The discussions on the Middle East with Israel and various other countries are progressing. Bibi (Benjamin) Netanyahu's coming on Tuesday, and I think we have some very big meetings scheduled," Trump told reporters, referring to the Israeli prime minister.

Netanyahu said Sunday he will discuss "victory over Hamas,” countering Iran in his meeting with Trump.

The meeting at the White House will be Trump's first with a foreign leader since returning to office. It comes as US and Arab mediators begin the daunting work of brokering the next phase of a ceasefire agreement to wind down the 15-month war in Gaza.

Hamas, which has reasserted control over Gaza since the ceasefire began last month, has said it will not release hostages in the second phase without an end to the war and Israeli forces' full withdrawal.

Netanyahu is under mounting pressure from far-right governing partners to resume the war after the first phase ends in early March. He has said Israel is committed to victory over Hamas and the return of all hostages captured in the group’s Oct. 7, 2023, attack that triggered the war.

It's unclear where Trump stands.

He has been a staunch supporter of Israel, but has also pledged to end wars in the Middle East and took credit for helping to broker the ceasefire agreement. The deal has led to the release of 18 hostages, as well as hundreds of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.