SULAIMANI (ESTA) — Five Iraqi troops were killed on Thursday when their helicopter crashed on a “combat mission” in Saladin province, the military said.
The helicopter came down near Amerli district, the Iraqi military said, in an area where Iraqi troops have carried out repeated operations against suspected sleeper cells of Islamic State (ISIS).
Despite the defeat of the militant group in 2017, remnants of the group switched to hit-and-run attacks against the government forces in different parts of Iraq.
Iraqi security forces have over the past months launched many operations in the area where the helicopter crashed to chase militants, Reuters cited military officials as saying.
*This story was updated at 10:04 a.m. EBL time
