Four Islamic State members killed in an operation, northeast of Baquba
A security checkpoint in Diyala
“Al-Hashd al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilization Forces) carried out an operation in the depth of Wadi Thelab region, northeast of Baquba, leaving four militants, including a leader, killed,” Sadeq al-Husseini, head of the committee, told AlSumaria News.
On Friday, a PMFs personnel was killed, while another was injured in an Islamic State attack against a patrol in the same region, a security source was quoted saying. PMFs killed, on Thursday, six Islamic State members and destroyed four vehicles in a checkpoint in Imam Wees region in Diyala.”
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. Many IS members were detained during liberation battles that freed cities, which were recaptured by the militant group in 2014.
In December, the Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi announced gaining control on all the territories that were captured by Islamic State, since 2014. However, the group still has dormant cells, through which it carries out attacks, across Iraq like it used to do before 2014.