Islamic State members killed in Coalition airstrike, southwest of Kirkuk

Kirkuk (IraqiNews.com) Several Islamic State members were killed, while rest houses were destroyed in shelling carried out by the U.S.-led Coalition, southwest of Kirkuk, a security source said on Saturday.

Speaking to AlSumaria News, the source said “U.S.-led Coalition jets carried out airstrikes against Islamic State location in al-Rashad region, in collaboration with the army and Federal Police.”

The airstrikes, according to the source, who preferred anonymity, “left many IS members killed and rest houses destroyed.”

On Friday, three Islamic State members were killed in a military operation carried out by joint troops in Tal Eid region in al-Riyad town, southwest of Kirkuk.

Brig. Gen. Yahia Rasool, spokesperson for the Security Media Center, was quoted, on the same day, saying that eleven Islamic State militants were killed while trying to storm Gharib and Hanaf villages in southwestern Kirkuk. The clashes also left an Iraqi policeman and a member of the Tribal Mobilization Forces killed.

Islamic State continues to launch sporadic attacks across Iraq against troops. Security reports indicate that the militant group still poses threat against stability in the country.

Thousands of Islamic State militants as well as Iraqi civilians were killed since the government campaign, backed by paramilitary troops and the coalition was launched in October 2016 to fight the militant group, which declared a self-styled “caliphate” from Mosul in June 2014.