ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – At least two Iraqi soldiers were killed and two others injured after an improvised explosive device (IED) left by Islamic State (ISIS) remnants exploded in Nineveh province, the defense ministry said on Sunday.

The ministry said it “mourns the loss of two of its heroic fighters who were martyred in an IED explosion,” adding: “Two other fighters were wounded in the incident and were transferred to the hospital for treatment.”

The explosion occurred during a “search and inspection operation north of the Rawa desert, south of Nineveh,” according to the ministry. 

ISIS took control of swathes of Syrian and Iraqi territory in 2014, announcing its self-proclaimed caliphate with the city of Mosul as its capital. The group was territorially defeated with assistance from the US-led coalition forces in Iraq by 2017 and in Syria by 2019.

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.

The incident also comes days after the withdrawal of the US-led coalition on September 30.

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

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

In mid-September, Kurdistan Region’s security forces (Asayish) said they arrested 22 ISIS members, including a senior member, and seized “a large quantity” of weapons during a four-day operation in Sulaimani and Halabja provinces.