Seven IS terrorists killed during counter-terrorism operation in Kirkuk
A Shi’ite volunteer wearing a mask, who has joined the Iraqi army to fight against the predominantly Sunni militants from the radical Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), looks on during a parade on a street in Kanaan, Diyala province, June 26, 2014.
Kirkuk (IraqiNews.com) – An Iraqi counter-terrorism force said on Tuesday that seven Islamic State militants were killed during a security operation in the oil-rich province of Kirkuk.
“A Counter-Terrorism Service force, in coordination with the U.S.-led international coalition, carried out a security operation in Daquq area in Kirkuk,” the Iraqi Security Media Cell said in a press statement.
The troops killed seven terrorists and destroyed several hotbeds and tunnels in the operation, the statement added.
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.
Despite the group’s crushing defeat at its main havens across Iraq, Islamic State continues to launch sporadic attacks against troops with security reports warning that the militant group still poses a threat against stability in the country.