SULAIMANI (ESTA) — At least four Islamic State terrorists were Killed in Iraq’s Diyala governorate amid an operation by the Iraqi forces on Saturday.
Iraqi Security Media cell said the Iraqi air forces carried out an airstrike on an outpost held by the Islamic State terrorists in the Banks of lake Hamrin vicinity, northeast of Diyala’s Baquba.
“Three Islamic State militants were killed after the airstrike carried out,” and “later the Iraqi forces on the ground were patrolled to the targeted site and killed the fourth militant after he engaged in combat,” the Security Media Cell said.
One of the killed terrorists was previously beheaded the General Director of Passport in a town of Baghdad, it said.
“Three motorbikes of the militants were destroyed and several IEDs were seized as well,” It added.
Islamic State controlled roughly a third of Iraq between 2014 and 2017. Iraqi forces and Kurdish troops backed by U.S.-led Coalition forces as well as Iran-backed Shia militias defeated the militant group in 2017, but its members still roam areas of northern Iraq and northeastern Syria.
Hamrin mountain range and the surrounding remote areas are turned into a hotspot for Islamic State terrorist group militants since its major defeat in 2017.
The remnants of militants built a large number of hide-outs and dens in what is so-known as the disputed areas between the Kurdistan Regional Government and the Federal government.
They utilized the space to regroup and carry out partisan attacks inside the area’s security vacuum.
