Iraqi troops kill 3 Islamic State members north of Salahuddin: source

Salahuddin (IraqiNews.com) Iraqi forces killed three Islamic State militants north of Salahuddin province, a security source was quoted saying on Wednesday.

Iraqi website al-Maalomah quoted the source saying that “a group of the Popular Mobilization Forces killed three Daesh militants who were attempting to sneak into villages near the Makhoul Mountains (north of the province)”. He added that operations were ongoing to purge desert areas from terrorist cells.

Iraqi forces have recently launched fresh offensives to purge the borders between Salahuddin and neighboring provinces from remnant Islamic State cells, following a series of attacks on security forces and kidnappings of civilians, especially at the province of Kirkuk.

IS fighters seem to maintain militant activity even after the Iraqi government declared victory over the extremist group in late 2017, ending a three-year war to retake areas occupied by the militants since 2014.