Two Islamic State militants killed in ambush, southwest of Kirkuk
Members of the Iraqi Counter-Terrorism Service (CTS) arrive at the scene of an attack outside warehouses where ballots from the May 12 parliamentary vote were stored in the northern multi-ethnic city of Kirkuk early on July 1, 2018. Marwan Ibrahim / AFP
Speaking to Baghdad Today website, the source said “an ambush set by the tribal fighters in al-Riyad region, southwest of Kirkuk, left two militants killed. One of them was the Emir of Riyad region.”
The troops, according to the source, who preferred anonymity, “are still following the militants in the province.”
Late on Tuesday, fierce confrontations took place as Islamic State members carried out an attack against Federal Police forces in a village in al-Abbassi region, southwest of Kirkuk. Earlier on the day, two Islamic State members were killed in an airstrike carried out by the U.S.-led Coalition, on the banks of Tigris river near Sobeih village, west of Kirkuk.
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.
Thousands of Islamic State militants as well as Iraqi civilians were killed since the government campaign, backed by paramilitary troops and the coalition was launched in October 2016.
In December, the Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi announced gaining control on all the territories that were captured by Islamic State, since 2014.