ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) on Wednesday announced killing an alleged leader of the Islamic State (ISIS) and two other members of the group in Nineveh.

On Wednesday, a force within the PMF’s Nineveh Operations Command killed “a prominent leader of the remnants of the ISIS terrorist group, one of three terrorists killed earlier by the force in the Baaj desert,” according to a statement.

The operation resulted in the death of “the terrorist ‘H.A.A.,’ who was responsible for logistical support in the Al-Hadar Island and Baaj region,” southwest of Sinjar (Shingal) in the Nineveh province, the PMF said. 

Days ago, the Iraqi defense ministry announced the killing of several alleged ISIS members and the destruction of their hideouts in a security operation in Kirkuk.

Despite being territorially defeated in 2017, ISIS militants continue to pose a security threat in Iraq through sporadic hit-and-run operations and attacks on remote areas. Iraqi forces, in cooperation with Kurdish forces, have intensified their efforts to eliminate these remnants.

In May, Rashid Fleih al-Halfi, director of the Joint Information Operations Center, said that the 610-kilometer (379-mile) frontier between Iraq and Syria is “fully secured” through multiple defensive lines. He added that Iraqi forces use thermal cameras and drones to monitor the border and prevent infiltration attempts from the terror group.

Earlier in the year, Iraq received thousands of ISIS prisoners from Syria in coordination with Washington after turmoil caused by a January Syrian government offensive in Rojava (northeast Syria) raised fears that detention centers, previously operated by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), would be unable to maintain security amid the conflict.

In February, the US military's Central Command (CENTCOM) announced that it had completed the transfer of just over 5,700 adult male ISIS fighters from Syria to Iraq.