Isis militants reportedly rigged cows with explosives in an attack on Iraqi security forces, in what is thought to be the first time the group has weaponised cattle.

The two cows were strapped with explosives belts and were heading towards a military checkpoint in Diyala province when Iraqi soldiers opened fire and “blew them up”, according to a report on the Kurdish language Rudaw news website.

One civilian was injured in the failed attack last week, according to the report.

Local official Sadiq Husseini was quoted as saying that the incident "shows that the group has lost the ability to recruit young people and would-be suicide bombers, instead they are using cattle".

Isis has been rebuilding in Iraq following the loss of its caliphate. Diyala province has seen a spate of attacks in recent months, despite ongoing military operations by the Iraqi security forces and the US-led coalition set up to defeat Isis.

Timeline of the Isis caliphate Show all 19 1 /19 Timeline of the Isis caliphate Timeline of the Isis caliphate ISIS began as a group by the merging of extremist organisations ISI and al-Nusra in 2013. Following clashes, Syrian rebels captured the ISIS headquarters in Aleppo in January 2014 (pictured) AFP/Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi declared the creation of a caliphate in Mosul on 27 June 2014 Timeline of the Isis caliphate Isis conquered the Kurdish towns of Sinjar and Zumar in August 2014, forcing thousands of civilians to flee their homes. Pictured are a group of Yazidi Kurds who have fled Rex Timeline of the Isis caliphate On September 2 2014 Isis released a video depicting the beheading of US journalist Steven Sotloff. On September 13 they released another video showing the execution of British aid worker David Haines Timeline of the Isis caliphate The US launched its first airstrikes against Isis in Syria on 23 September 2014. Here Lt Gen William C Mayville Jnr speaks about the bombing campaign in the wake of the first strikes Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Isis militants sit atop a hill planted with their flag in the Syrian town of Kobani on 6 October 2014. They had been advancing on Kobani since mid-September and by now was in control of the city’s entrance and exit points AFP/Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Residents of the border village of Alizar keep guard day and night as they wait in fear of mortar fire from Isis who have occupied the nearby city of Kobani Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Smoke rises following a US airstrike on Kobani, 28 October 2014 AFP/Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate YPG fighters raise a flag as they reclaim Kobani on 26 January 2015 VOA Timeline of the Isis caliphate Isis seized the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra on 20 May 2015. This image show the city from above days after its capture by Isis Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Kurdish forces are stationed on a hill above the town of Sinjar as smoke rises following US airstrikes on 12 November 2015 AFP/Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Kurdish forces enter Sinjar after seizing it from Isis control on 13 November 2015 AFP/Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Iraqi government forces make the victory sign as they retake the city of Fallujah from ISIS on 26 June 2016 Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Iraqi forces battle with Isis for the city of Mosul on 30 June 2017 AFP/Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Members of the Iraqi federal police raise flags in Mosul on 8 July 2017. On the following day, Iraqi prime minister Haider Al Abadi declares victory over Isis in Mosul Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Members of Syrian Democratic Forces celebrate in Al-Naim square after taking back the city of Raqqa from Isis. US-backed Syrian forces declare victory over Isis in Raqqa on 20 October 2017 after a four-month long campaign Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Female fighters of the Syrian Democratic Forces celebrate in Al-Naim Square after taking back the city of Raqqa from Isis. US-backed Syrian forces declare victory over Isis in Raqqa on 20 October 2017 after a four-month long campaign AFP/Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Trucks full of women and children arrive from the last Isis-held areas in Deir ez-Zor, Syria in January 2019 They were among the last civilians to be living in the ISIS caliphate, by this time reduced to just two small villages in Syria’s Deir ez-Zor Richard Hall/The Independent Timeline of the Isis caliphate Zikia Ibrahim, 28, with her two-year-old son and 8-month-old daughter, after fleeing the Isis caliphate, on Saturday 26 January 2019 Richard Hall/The Independent

The province is home to a mixed population of Kurds, Sunnis and Shias, and is at the centre of a dispute between the Kurdistan Regional Government and Iraq, which both claim ownership.

Isis has taken advantage of the territorial dispute to re-establish itself in the area. According to a report from the Institute for the Study of War earlier this year, Isis holds a “durable support zone” in the south of the province, and has “increased its attack tempo against security forces, local tribal figures, and commercial sites.”

Just last week, two Iraqi soldiers were reportedly killed by snipers in the town of Khanaqin.

It is not unheard of for militant groups to use livestock in attacks. Research charity Action on Armed Violence has recorded six incidents of “donkey-borne IEDs” since 2010, which killed a total of 14 people. All of the incidents were in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

The attempt to use cows to attack security forces may be the first time Isis has used cattle in its operations, but it has on at least one occasion used dairy products to smuggle explosives.

Lebanese authorities thwarted a plan by Isis in December last year to carry out bomb attacks during the country’s parliamentary elections.