Eight Islamic State members killed in U.S. Coalition airstrike in Diyala

Diyala (IraqiNews.com) Eight Islamic State members, planning for a fake checkpoint, were killed in an airstrike by the U.S.-led Coalition in Diyala, the Security Media Center said on Tuesday.

In a statement, the center said, “based on intelligence information from the Counter-Terrorism Service, the Coalition jets carried out an airstrike targeting Islamic State pockets in Hamreen mountains in Kabashi region in al-Saadiya town.”

During the airstrike, according to the statement, “eight militants, planning for a fake checkpoint, were killed.”

Islamic State continues to launch sporadic attacks across Iraq against troops. Security reports indicate that the militant group still poses threat against stability in the country.

On Sunday, a policeman was killed, while another was injured in a bomb blast, south of Diyala.

Thousands of Islamic State militants as well as Iraqi civilians were killed since the government campaign, backed by paramilitary troops and the coalition was launched in October 2016 to fight the militant group, which declared a self-styled “caliphate” from Mosul in June 2014.

In December, the Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi announced gaining control on all the territories that were captured by Islamic State, since 2014. However, the group still has dormant cells, through which it carries out attacks, across Iraq like it used to do before 2014.