Security forces kill 15 Islamic State militants in Iraq’s Salahuddin
A group of Islamic State militants hold a parade wearing their custom black uniforms
Salahuddin (IraqiNews.com) – As many as 15 Islamic State militants were killed on Wednesday during a security operation in the Iraqi province of Salahuddin, Spokesman for the Security Media Center Yehia Rasool was quoted as saying.
“Security forces in Salahuddin Operations Command have launched a wide-scale security operation in Kanous village to eliminate dormant cells of the Islamic State group,” Mawazin News quoted Rasool as saying in a statement.
“The operation resulted in destruction of two terrorist hotbeds and murder of 15 Islamic State militants, who were hiding inside an underground tunnel,” added the statement.
Former Iraqi prime minister Haider al-Abadi declared the end of military operations against Islamic State in Iraq on December 9, 2017 three years after the militant group captured about a third of Iraq’s territory. On July 10 that year, the former premier had formally declared victory over Islamic State extremists in Mosul, which served as the terrorists’ main urban stronghold.
Between June 2014 and December 2017, Islamic State seized large areas of Iraq and led a campaign of widespread violence and systematic violations of international human rights and humanitarian law – acts that may amount to war crimes, crimes against humanity, and possible genocide.