SULAIMANI (ESTA) — Five Islamic State (ISIS) militants were killed in airstrikes carried out by the Iraqi warplanes in Kirkuk on Wednesday, the country’s military said.
The strikes targeted two ISIS hideouts after the Iraqi counter-terrorism service spotted them in al-Dibis district in northwest of Kirkuk, said Yehia Rasool, spokesman of the commander-in-chief of the Iraqi armed forces.
The strikes killed five ISIS militants, including two senior members, he added.
Over the past few months, Iraqi security forces have carried out deadly attacks against IS militants in response to their intensified activities.
ISIS 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.