ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Kurdish and Iraqi security forces have eliminated “three terrorists,” including a senior commander, during a joint operation in Kirkuk province, according to statements released on Sunday by the Sulaimani branch of the Kurdistan Region’s Security Agency (Asayish) and Iraq’s Counter-Terrorism Service (ICTS).
In a statement on its official Facebook page, the Asayish announced that, in coordination with the ICTS, they “eliminated the battalion commander of Sulaiman Beg” - an area located east of Salahaddin province and south of Kirkuk - “along with two affiliated terrorists during a direct confrontation.”
The operation was based on detailed intelligence as well as “credible input from informants,” the Asayish added, noting that the Kurdish security forces and the ICTS were able to successfully “locate the terrorists' hideout” and “conduct a joint operation.”
For its part, the ICTS said in a Sunday statement on X that they, in cooperation with the Kurdistan Region's Asayish, managed to successfully “eliminate three terrorists in Kirkuk,” describing the operation as "a specialized, qualitative operation” that was “based on accurate intelligence information."
The statement further detailed that "after setting up a tight ambush following continuous surveillance, our heroes were able to kill three terrorists, two of whom held positions as sector commanders, and the third as a battalion commander in Kirkuk province."
The ICTS confirmed the joint operation in a separate statement on X, describing it as a “specialized, high-quality operation” carried out with “accurate intelligence.”
"After conducting continuous surveillance and setting a tight ambush, our forces succeeded in killing three terrorists," the ICTS said. "Two of them held positions as sector commanders, and the third was a battalion commander in Kirkuk province."
Erbil and Baghdad have recently increased joint efforts to close security gaps between their territories, which have been exploited by extremist groups, including Islamic State (ISIS) militants.
