ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Four members of a family were killed in a landmine on Sunday that had been planted by the Islamic State (ISIS) during their reign in Nineveh province, an official confirmed to The New Region.

“A landmine killed four members of a family near a village in Baaj,” said Mohammed Jasim, member of the security and defense committee at the Nineveh Provincial Council, adding “the landmine was a remnant of Daesh [ISIS] militants.”

Jasim added the bodies of the family have been transferred to the Mosul city morgue for forensic examinations.

Once a key stronghold of ISIS, the town of Baaj is located southwest of Shingal. Baaj was the last place in the area liberated from ISIS in June 2017. 

Despite ongoing efforts to eliminate ISIS, the group remains a significant threat to regional stability and security through its remnants.

The US Central Command (CENTCOM) and Iraqi Security Forces conducted a joint operation in Western Iraq on August 29, killing 15 ISIS members, CENTCOM announced on Saturday.

CENTCOM emphasized that the US and its coalition partners, alongside Iraqi forces, will continue to pursue ISIS aggressively to prevent future attacks.

ISIS controlled large swathes of territory in parts of Iraq and Syria following their rise in 2014. The group was declared territorially defeated in 2019. 

The group no longer controls any territory, but they are active in their hit-and-run operations, posing serious danger to security around the areas that they had once controlled.