IS kills 3 Iraq village chiefs in a week: officials

KIRKUK, Iraq: Militants have killed three village chiefs in less than a week in Iraq´s restive north, local officials said Saturday, as the targeting of state representatives escalates.

Iraq declared victory against the Islamic State group last year, but small militant cells still wage attacks, especially in mountainous areas like the northern province of Kirkuk.

There, IS has attacked state infrastructure and government officials, especially targeting local administrative heads known as "mukhtars."

The latest victim, on Friday night, was mukhtar of the village of Mahmudiya near the town of Hawija. The town has long been a bastion of radical Sunni Muslim groups and was one of the last IS holdouts retaken by government troops last year.