12 Islamic State members killed in airstrike on Iraqi border area

Diyala (IraqiNews.com) – Twelve members of Islamic State were killed Wednesday in an airstrike on a border area between Diyala and Salahuddin provinces, a security source said.

“Iraqi jet fighters have shortly targeted a group of Islamic State militants in al-Maita basin on the border between the provinces of Diyala and Salahuddin,” the source told Mawazin News.

The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, added that the air raid left 12 IS members dead and five others trapped.

“A security force has gone on a mission to eliminate the remaining IS terrorists,” the source added.

Iraq declared the collapse of Islamic State’s territorial influence last year with the recapture of Rawa, a city on Anbar’s western borders with Syria, which was the group’s last bastion in Iraq.

IS declared a self-styled “caliphate” in a third of Iraq and neighboring Syria in 2014. A government campaign, backed by a U.S.-led international coalition and paramilitary forces, was launched in 2016 to retake IS-held regions, managing to retake all havens, most notably the city of Mosul, the group’s previously proclaimed capital.

Despite the group’s crushing defeat at its main havens across Iraq, Islamic State continues to launch sporadic attacks against troops with security reports warning that the militant group still poses a threat against stability in the country.