SULAIMANI (ESTA) — At least five Islamic State (ISIS) terrorists were killed in the disputed district of Tuz Khurmatu on Sunday, said the Iraqi security media cell.
The terrorists were killed by the Iraqi Special Forces following an airstrike, the security media cell in a statement.
“At least bodies of five terrorists were discovered following the airstrike,” it said.
ISIS controlled roughly a third of Iraq between 2014 and 2017. However, the Iraqi forces and Kurdish troops backed by U.S.-led Coalition forces as well as Iran-backed Shia militias defeated the group in 2017.
While ISIS was driven out of most of the territory, many of the terrorist militants still roam in the so-called disputed territories, claimed by both the Iraqi government and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).
The group’s remnants are particularly active in the so-known disputed areas between the Kurdish and Iraqi governments, stretching across several provinces including Kirkuk, Salahaddin, and Diyala.
In the meantime, on Friday, Kurdistan’s Counter-Terrorism Group (CTG) and the Iraqi Counter-Terrorism Service (ICTS), have conducted a joint operation against the remnants of the ISIS militants.
The operation targeted hostels of the terrorists which they exploited to carry out hit-and-run attacks against civilians and the security forces in disputed Kirkuk’s Daquq sub-district.
