Iraqi forces kill 10 ISIS militants in weekend operations: official

Shafaq News/ Iraqi security forces killed 10 members of the Islamic State (ISIS) extremist group in a series of operations across the country over the weekend, the Iraqi Joint Operations Command (JOC) said on Sunday.

The operations targeted ISIS hideouts in the governorates of Kirkuk, Saladin, and Diyala.

On June 20, acting on intelligence reports, security forces killed three militants in the Wadi al-Shay and Wadi Umm al-Khnajar areas of the Kirkuk sector, the statement said.

Two days later, another operation in Balgana, east of Saladin, resulted in the killing of seven more ISIS members.

In a separate development, the JOC announced an airstrike on Sunday targeting an ISIS hideout in the Hamrin Mountains in Diyala.

The airstrike, conducted by F-16 aircraft, destroyed the hideout and killed three militants who were inside, the statement said. It added that a number of ISIS outbuildings and caves containing weapons and ammunition were also destroyed.

The Iraqi government has declared victory over ISIS after territorial defeat in 2017, but the group continues to carry out sporadic attacks, particularly in remote areas near the Kurdistan region.