The operation, near Diyala province’s Qara Tapa town, around 172 kilometers northeast of Baghdad, involved several Peshmerga brigades who scouted the area “suspected of containing ISIS terrorist hideouts and remnants,” the Peshmerga ministry said in a statement.
“During the operation, several ISIS terrorist hideouts and caves were destroyed, and the operation concluded,” according to the ministry.
ISIS seized control of large swathes of territory in Iraq in 2014 but was defeated in 2017 after three years of fierce battles. Despite its defeat, the group continues to pose security risks, particularly in the disputed territories between Baghdad and Erbil which span across several provinces including Diyala, Kirkuk, Nineveh, and Salahaddin.
ISIS cells roaming the disputed territories occasionally carry out attacks on Peshmerga and Iraqi security forces.
In February, a Peshmerga unit thwarted an ISIS attack near the town of Kifri in Sulaimani province.
Both Erbil and Baghdad are working together to address the security vacuum between their areas of control to combat ISIS activities.
