Iraqi troops gun Islamic State warlord down in Diyala

Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – Iraqi counter-terrorism forces killed on Sunday an Islamic State warlord during a security operation in a mountain ridge in northeast Iraq.

Abu Idris, a notorious Islamic State leader, was shot dead during a specific operation by the elite Counter-Terrorism Service in Hamrin mountains in Diyala province, Alforat News website quoted the Security Media Cell as saying in a press statement.

The service said that it will provide further details about the operation later.

Iraq declared the collapse of Islamic State’s territorial influence in November 2017 with the recapture of Rawa, a city on Anbar’s western borders with Syria, which was the group’s last bastion in Iraq.

Islamic State 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 militants continue to launch sporadic attacks against troops with security reports warning that the militant group still poses a threat against stability in the country.