BAGHDAD, Nov 18, 2018 (BSS/Xinhua) – Iraqi air force killed 10 Islamic
State (IS) militants and destroyed their hideouts by two airstrikes in the
Iraqi provinces of Diyala and Salahudin, the Iraqi military said on Sunday.
In Salahudin province, the Iraqi aircraft destroyed two IS hideouts and
three of their trenches, leaving 10 IS militants killed in Gan’ous village
near the town of Shirqat, some 280 km north of Baghdad, Spokesman of the
Iraqi Joint Operations Command, Yahya Rasoul, said in a statement.
In Diyala province, the Iraqi aircraft bombed an IS hideout and four
motorcycles in Himreen mountainous area in northern part of the province,
Rasoul said without mentioning when the airstrikes took place.
The Iraqi forces, backed by Iraqi aircrafts, are carrying continuing
reconnaissance and surveillance in different areas in central Iraq to track
the extremist IS militants and destroy their locations.
The security situation in Iraq has been dramatically improved after Iraqi
security forces fully defeated the extremist IS militants across the country
late in 2017.
However, small groups of IS militants have since regrouped in desert and
rugged areas, carrying out attacks against security forces and civilians
despite the military operations from time to time to hunt them down.