SULAIMANI (ESTA) — U.S.-led Coalition forces destroyed five Islamic State (ISIS) hidouts in the Hamrin mountain range on Saturday, according to the Iraqi military said.
Iraqi Security Media Cell said in a statement that the Coalition warplanes conducted nine airstrikes against ISIS positions in the Hamrin mountain range, destroying five ISIS hideouts.
It further said the strikes were carried out in cooprdination with the Iraqi Joint Operations Command.
Iraq declared victory over Islamic State in December 2017 but the militants have regrouped in the Hamrin mountain range which extends into the northern provinces – an area described by officials as a “triangle of death”.
Iraqi commanders have warned that the group has been regrouping in northern Iraq and relying on women to secure logistical support for their operatives in the Hamrin mountain range.
The area is caught between the jurisdictions of the Iraqi security forces and the Peshmerga forces.
Kurdish officials have said the militant group is using a security vacuum between the Iraqi and Kurdish forces in the disputed areas, claimed by both the federal government and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).
