Eleven Iraqi soldiers have been killed in their sleep by Islamic State gunmen, security officials have said.

The attack happened at 3am on Friday in al Azim district, in the east of Iraq, officials told The Associated Press.

IS militants broke into the barracks and murdered the sleeping soldiers in what was one of the deadliest attacks on the Iraqi military in recent months.

Reinforcements were reportedly sent to the village but no further details were given and there was no comment from the Iraqi military.

Islamic State was largely defeated in Iraq in 2017 but the group’s militants continue to attack security forces, and infrastructure such as power stations.

In October the Sunni extremist group raided a mostly Shia village in Diyala province, killing 11 civilians and injuring several others.

According to officials, the militants had been angry that their ransom demands for kidnapped villagers had not been met.

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The extremists have also increased their attacks in neighbouring Syria, where they once based their self-styled caliphate before being ousted by an international coalition.

On Thursday evening, they attacked a detention facility in Syria’s northeast, aiming to free a number of their fighters who are among 3,000 inmates.

Kurdish forces, who control the prison, said that a car bomb went off outside the complex and IS fighters clashed with security forces while prisoners rioted and tried to escape.

Large parts of Iraq and Syria are still in ruins following several years of fighting between IS and coalition forces.

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