Iraqi airstrike kills suspected ISIS militants in Kirkuk

A number of alleged Islamic State (ISIS) militants were killed Monday when the Iraqi air force delivered an airstrike on their location in Kirkuk province.

“”The air force carried out a strike by F-15 aircraft” in Kirkuk’s Wadi al-Shay area, “resulting in the killing of a terrorist detachment and the destruction of their guesthouses,” Iraq’s Security Media Cell said, without clarifying the number of militants killed.

Iraqi and Kurdish security forces often carry out operations against members of the terror group despite an overall decline in their activities in recent years, and their hideouts, mostly in territories disputed between Baghdad and Erbil, are often tracked by the Iraqi air force and destroyed.

ISIS seized control of swathes of Iraqi land in 2014. The group was declared territorially defeated in 2017 but it continues to carry out bombings, hit-and-run attacks, and abductions across several provinces.

The militants have particularly taken shelter in a security vacuum in parts of northern Iraq that are disputed between Baghdad and Erbil, stretching across several provinces including Diyala, Salahaddin, and Kirkuk.

A number of ISIS militants were killed in early May when Iraqi F-16 jets struck their hideout in Diyala province.

Last week, an Iraqi army spokesperson said that the army has killed over 100 ISIS members since the beginning of the year, and added that the terror group’s capabilities have significantly decreased as the Iraqi army continues to technologically advance.

Source » rudaw