Four Islamic State militants killed while trying to infiltrate into Diyala
Iraqi security forces arrest a suspected member of the Islamic State group
Diyala (IraqiNews.com) – Four Islamic State (IS) members were killed Monday while trying to infiltrate into Diyala province, a security source was quoted as saying.
“The 110th brigade of al-Hashd al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilization Forces) has ambushed four IS members while driving their armored vehicle into the Gent valley in northeastern Diyala,” Watan News quoted the source as saying.
According to the source, the terrorists were planning to carry out terrorist attacks against civilians in Diyala.
Iraq declared the collapse of Islamic State’s territorial influence last November with the recapture of Rawa, a city on Anbar’s western borders with Syria, which was the group’s last bastion in Iraq.
IS declared a self-styled “caliphate” in a third of Iraq and neighboring Syria in 2014. A government campaign, backed by a U.S.-led international coalition and paramilitary forces, was launched in 2016 to retake IS-held regions, managing to retake all havens, most notably the city of Mosul, the group’s previously proclaimed capital.
Despite the group’s crushing defeat at its main havens across Iraq, Islamic State continues to launch sporadic attacks against troops with security reports warning that the militant group still poses a threat against stability in the country.