"A terrorist act targeting a military vehicle in Tarmiyah area resulted in the killing of the commander of the Army's 59th Brigade," the media office of the Joint Operations Command said in a brief statement.

Meanwhile, a separate statement by Iraqi Defense Ministry identified the killed commander as Ali Hamid Ghaidan "who was killed while carrying out his security duties in Tarmiyah area."

The response to the killing of Ghaidan will be "swift and harsh ... with an iron fist" on the militants who carried out the attack, said the ministry statement.

Tarmiyah, some 30 km north of Baghdad, is characterized by the intensity of orchards and connected to the vast deserts of the provinces of Anbar and Salahudin.

The attack in Tarmiyah came as the extremist IS militants have intensified their attacks on the security forces and civilians in the formerly IS-controlled Sunni provinces, resulting in the killing and wounding of dozens.

The security situation in Iraq has been improving since Iraqi security forces fully defeated the IS militants across the country late in 2017.

However, IS remnants have since melted in urban areas or deserts and rugged areas, carrying out frequent guerrilla attacks against security forces and civilians.