Islamic State claimed responsibility on Tuesday for an attack on Monday targeting an army post in northern Iraq which security sources said had killed a commanding officer and four soldiers.

The Islamic State is suspected of killing soldiers in eastern Iraq in the latest sign of the group’s persistence.

An Iraqi army officer and five soldiers were killed in an attack blamed on ISIS in central Iraq, a government statement and a security official said on Tuesday. The attack took place in a rural area between Diyala and Salahuddin provinces late on Monday.

An Iraqi commanding officer and four soldiers were killed and five others injured on Monday in an attack by suspected Islamic State militants on an army post in eastern Iraq, two security sources said.

An Iraqi army officer and four soldiers were killed, and six others wounded on Monday in an attack by militants of the Islamic State (IS) group in Salahudin province north of the capital Baghdad, a provincial police source said.