“Through intensive monitoring by the Targeting Cell of the Joint Operations Command over the past two consecutive days, the location of a terrorist group of four members was identified in the Hamrin Mountains within the Kirkuk Operations Command sector,” read a statement from the Iraqi Joint Operations Command.
“Our courageous Air Force Falcons carried out a severe strike with F-16 aircraft, targeting this terrorist group. The strike resulted in the killing of the group members and the destruction of their hideout,” it added.
The strike also destroyed weapons, ammunition, logistic supplies, and explosives, according to the statement.
The operation in territories disputed between federal Iraq and the Kurdistan Regional Government is the latest in an ongoing effort to rid the country of ISIS cells in areas where a security vacuum allows them to operate.
ISIS seized control of swathes of Iraqi territory in 2014, sweeping across vast stretches of northern and central Iraq and declaring a so-called “caliphate.” The jihadists’ rule was brought to an end in 2017 when Iraqi and Kurdish fighters, supported by a United States-led international coalition, clawed back territory from the group.
Last month, the Iraqi army announced that over 100 ISIS members have been killed since the beginning of the year.
