Four Islamic State members killed, southwest of Kirkuk: Federal Police
Members of the Iraqi Federal Police forces stand inside an underground tunnel dug by Islamic State militants south of western Mosul’s Old City.
In a statement by Lt. Gen. Shaker Jawdat, Federal Police chief, said troops “carried out an operation, depending on information from the intelligence department that indicated presence of several militants in al-Riyad region in Hawija town. Four militants were killed, while tunnels, that link two rest houses, were seized.”
Last week, Jawdat said two militants were arrested in Kirkuk. One of them was the security leader of the group in al-Zab region, while the other one is Maher al-Obeidi, leader of the Islamic State cells in al-Riyad region.
In December, the Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi announced gaining control on all the territories that were captured by Islamic State, since 2014.
Thousands of militants as well as Iraqi civilians were killed since the government campaign, backed by paramilitary troops and the coalition was launched in October 2016 to fight the militant group, which declared a self-styled “caliphate” from Mosul in June 2014.
Islamic State continues to launch sporadic attacks across Iraq against troops. 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.