“Through a precise intelligence operation and continuous follow-up by the heroes of the Counter Terrorism Service, and after setting up a tight ambush in Kirkuk province in Zagheitoun Valley, our heroes managed to kill two terrorists from ISIS terrorist gangs,” read a statement from the ICTS.
It also released photos purportedly showing the bodies of the killed ISIS fighters lying on the ground.
ISIS rose to power and seized swathes of Iraqi and Syrian land in a brazen offensive in 2014, declaring a so-called “caliphate.”
While the group was declared territorially defeated in Iraq and Syria in 2017 and 2019 respectively, it still continues to pose serious security risks through hit-and-run attacks, bombings, and abductions, especially across the vast expanses of the Syrian desert and several Iraqi provinces situated in a security vacuum between the federal government and the Kurdistan Region.
Earlier this month, the US military said that an ISIS leader was arrested and two operatives killed in numerous partnered operations with Iraqi forces.
Syrian authorities have cracked down on ISIS affiliates connected to the deadly terrorist attack on Mar Elias Church in Damascus, which killed 25 worshippers and injured 63 others during Sunday mass. A number of suspects have been arrested.
