At least 19 people, including 12 security forces, have been killed in eastern Iraq in the latest round of violence this week in the country.

At least 19 people, including 12 security forces, have been killed in eastern Iraq in the latest round of violence this week in the country.

On Thursday, one soldier was killed and another was wounded after militants opened fire on an Iraqi Army helicopter forcing it to make an emergency landing near the town of Hadid, about 70 kilometers (45 miles) northeast of Baghdad, The Associated Press quoted Diyala provincial spokesman Salih Ebressim Khalil as saying.

The attack took place following overnight clashes between Iraqi troops and militants on Wednesday, in which 11 policemen and seven gunmen were killed, provincial police and health officials said.

The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, added that eight militants were also arrested during the clashes.

The fighting broke out after militants attacked a security checkpoint on the outskirts of Hadid late on Tuesday.

On Monday, at least 111 people, including security forces, were killed in bomb attacks and shootings carried out in the capital, the northern city of Kirkuk, and 17 towns. The day marked the deadliest in the country in two years.

Thursday’s incident is the latest in a string of attacks that have left more than 400 people dead across the country since June.

Violence has increased in Iraq since December 2011 when an arrest warrant was issued for fugitive Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi, who has been charged with running a death squad targeting Iraqi officials and Muslim pilgrims.