Iraqi paramilitary fighters repel IS attack on military checkpoint in Salahuddin
Islamic State fighters carry their swords following a battle with Iraqi security forces. File photo
Salahuddin (IraqiNews.com) – An Iraqi paramilitary force has repelled an attempt by Islamic State terrorists to attack a military checkpoint in Salahuddin province, a security source said.
Speaking to the privately-owned Almaalomah news website on Tuesday, the source said that members of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) have destroyed a pickup truck driven by Islamic State terrorists near a military checkpoint in Baiji city in Salahuddin.
“The IS terrorists were seeking to storm the checkpoint,” the source said, adding that the pickup truck was completely destroyed in the operation.
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.
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.