SALAHUDDIN — Nineteen civilians , including women and children, were injured in a bomb blast on their way while fleeing the IS-held areas, in eastern Salahuddin province.

Speaking to al-Sumaria, a local source said on Saturday that an improvised explosive device (IED) exploded in the early hours of the day near Hamrin in the province of Salahuddin amidst civilian families fleeing the IS-held town of Hawijah southern Kirkuk province.

The people of Hawijah have constantly been escaping the town and hundreds of them have so far been hit by the IS-planted IEDs and mines on their way to Kirkuk.

Hawijah district, located in south of Kikruk, is the last IS-held area of the province which was slated to be freed from IS before Mosul, but later the plan was changed and the battle of Hawijah was postponed. Kirkuk officials however have repeatedly warned that the province remains under threat as long as IS is in Hawijah.