ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - The Iraqi defense ministry announced Sunday that they had killed seven militants of the Islamic State (ISIS) in airstrikes on the group’s hideouts in the remote regions of Kirkuk province a few days ago.
The defense ministry’s Security Media Cell revealed that the ISIS remnants were killed in the al-Zarka area, a region separating the administrative boundaries of Salahaddin and Kirkuk provinces, on Friday in an operation involving Iraqi F16 warplanes
"Today… a joint force of the heroes of the Special Forces, the Eastern Salah al-Din Operations Command, and the brave elements of the Military Intelligence Directorate… began searching the site of the successful air strike, and found seven bodies of terrorists,” read a statement by the security media cell.
The statement said that the slain militants had worn “explosive belts” while detailing that the armed forces discovered "various weapons, logistical materials,
devices, criminal evidence, and other materials” during the search operation.
"The search process is still ongoing in the targeted area and its surroundings,” it said, adding the identities of the “terrorists” who will be revealed later.
Despite being territorially defeated in 2017, ISIS militants continue to pose a security threat in Iraq through hit-and-run operations and attacks on remote areas. Iraqi forces have intensified their efforts to eliminate these remnants, especially in provinces like Kirkuk, Anbar, and Nineveh, where ISIS cells remain active.
Iraqi security forces in early January announced the killing of six ISIS militants, including a senior member of Kirkuk province’s remote regions.
Iraqi security forces arrested over 500 terror suspects in 2024, according to data from the Iraqi National Security Service.
In November, Iraqi PM Sudani reiterated support for the security forces in their pursuit of ISIS remnants, stressing that “there is no place for terrorists in Iraq” and that armed forces will continue their operations until the country is “cleansed” from ISIS.
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