Joint operation destroys 5 Islamic State hotbeds in Iraq’s Diyala
An Iraqi solider waves the “V” victory sign following a great triumph over the Islamic State group
Diyala (IraqiNews.com) – Iraqi security forces destroyed on Tuesday five hotbeds of the Islamic State militant group in the eastern province of Diyala, a police spokesman said.
“A joint force of Diyala police and army launched a counter-terrorism operation in al-Nada district in the eastern part of the province, destroying five IS hideouts,” the Iraqi Ayn Al Iraq news website quoted Diyala police spokesman Col. Ghaleb al-Attia as saying in a press statement.
The operation was launched based on intelligence information to track down Islamic State terrorists in the province, the spokesman added.
In January 2015, Iraqi forces announced liberation of Diyala province from Islamic State extremist militants who proclaimed an “Islamic Caliphate” in Iraq and Syria in 2014.
The province has seen months of fighting between Iraqi troops and IS militants especially in the Jalawla and Saadiyah areas in the province’s north and areas near the town of Muqdadiyah.