Five Islamic State members killed, arrested, southwest of Kirkuk
Iraqi policemen stand guard outside a Baghdad police academy that was the target of a suicide car bombing on Sunday. CNN
In a statement, Iraqi Federal Police commander, Lt. Gen. Shaker Jawdat said “troops set up an ambush on one of the roads that Islamic State members use.”
Confrontations broke out, according to the statement. Three militants were killed, while explosives and weapons were seized in al-Atshana village in al-Rashad region.
In related news, the Security Media Center said two militants were arrested in southwest of the province.
“Federal Police managed to arrest two militants in Kirkuk,” it said. “One of the militants is involved in terrorism charges, while the other used to work within the group in the so-called Kirkuk State.”
Both were referred to judiciary for investigations.
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.
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, Security reports indicate that the militant group still poses threat against stability in the country. The group still has dormant cells, through which it carries out attacks, across Iraq like it used to do before 2014.