BAGHDAD, Aug. 21 (Xinhua) -- A senior officer from the Counter-Terrorism Service (CTS) was killed on Friday in a roadside bomb explosion in Iraq's Salahudin province, a local security source said.

Hisham Mohammed, commander of the CTS regiment, was killed when a roadside bomb went off at dawn near him during an operation against Islamic State (IS) militants in Makhoul mountain range in the northern part of Salahudin province, Mohammed al-Bazi told Xinhua.

The blast also wounded another CTS officer and a soldier, al-Bazi said.

The CTS forces are Iraq's main special operations forces, commonly known as the Golden Division. The CTS is the Iraqi special forces unit created by the international coalition forces after the 2003 invasion.

The anti-IS operation 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 guerilla attacks against security forces and civilians.