ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – Iraqi security forces carried out a security operation against alleged Islamic State (ISIS) remnants in Kirkuk, leading to the death of a civilian woman who happened to be near the site of the incident, the Security Media Cell announced on Sunday.

On Saturday evening, “security forces detected the movement of two remnants of ISIS near the village of Al-Malha,” in Kirkuk, firing two mortar rounds toward their position after locating them, according to a statement released by the Iraqi security media.

“The incident resulted in injuries to a civilian woman who happened to be near the site; she was urgently transported to the hospital for treatment but succumbed to her injuries,” the statement said.

In a similar operation earlier in August, Iraq’s counterterrorism forces targeted a suspected ISIS hideout south of Kirkuk, killing two members of the militant group.

In July, a member of the Iraqi Counter-Terrorism Service (CTS) was killed during clashes with ISIS remnants in the province, following a series of security operations targeting the group.

ISIS remnants have entrenched themselves in Kirkuk’s rural areas for years, resulting in frequent airstrikes from the Iraqi army and counterterrorism forces.

ISIS took control of swathes of Iraqi and Syrian territory in 2014, declaring its so-called caliphate with the Iraqi city of Mosul as its capital. They were territorially defeated with assistance from the US-led coalition forces in Iraq in 2017.

Despite their territorial defeat, 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.