Iraqi state media (INA) cited a statement by the Security Media Cell that the Targeting Cell of the Iraqi Joint Operations Command, in cooperation with the Iraqi intelligence, on Sunday “managed to target an important hideout of the failed ISIS detachments in the Hamrin Mountains within the Diyala Operations Command sector, containing three terrorist members inside.”
“Through the heroic actions of our brave hawks, a devastating airstrike was carried out by F-16 aircraft on this hideout, turning it into rubble over the heads of the terrorists,” read the statement.
“A number of hideouts and caves, along with the weapons, ammunition, and logistical materials they contained, were destroyed,” it added.
There were no immediate reports of casualties during the strikes in rugged Hamrin.
The Iraqi forces recently have increased their attacks on the group. On Saturday, at least seven members of the group were killed in two separate airstrikes in eastern Salahaddin province, and on Friday, three ISIS members were also killed in an operation in Kirkuk.
ISIS seized control of swathes of Iraqi territory during a brazen offensive in 2014, but it was declared territorially defeated in 2017 when its so-called caliphate in the country fell as Iraqi and Kurdish fighters, supported by a US-led international coalition, claimed back lands lost to the extremists.
Despite its territorial defeat, the group has continued to pose a serious security threat to the country through hit-and-run attacks, bombings and abductions in several provinces, particularly in areas disputed between the Iraqi government and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), which stretch across several provinces including Nineveh, Diyala, Salahaddin and Kirkuk.
Iraq’s air force regularly pursues and targets ISIS hideouts across the country, particularly in the disputed areas.
