Shafaq News- Kirkuk

Iraqi security forces launched a search operation in Al-Shay Valley (Wadi al-Shay), south of Kirkuk, for ISIS militants believed to have been killed or wounded in recent Iraqi F-16 strikes on their positions in the rugged valley, a security source told Shafaq News on Thursday.

A joint force from the Iraqi Army and the Counter-Terrorism Service (ICTS) traced possible escape routes, ensuring that no ISIS fighters remained in the surrounding areas.

On Wednesday, Iraqi fighter jets carried out four airstrikes on ISIS compounds and hideouts in Wadi al-Shay, killing “Abu Osama,” a senior commander of the group.

Although ISIS lost territorial control in Iraq in 2017, it continues to operate as an insurgent network across desert and rural areas, including Diyala, Kirkuk, Saladin, and Al-Anbar. In mid-April, Iraq’s Interior Ministry reported that security forces had dismantled four ISIS-linked cells during operations conducted in 2026, warning that the group has increasingly turned to social media and online gaming platforms to recruit young people.

Read more: On ISIS defeat anniversary, Iraq confronts a reawakening insurgency