Iraqi troops kill 3 Islamic State suicide bombers in Salahuddin
Paramilitary fighters and military vehicles are seen during a military operation to retake positions held by Islamic State militants, on the outskirts of Muqdadiyah in Diyala province, north of Baghdad January 25, 2015. Picture taken January 25, 2015. REUTERS
Salahuddin (IraqiNews.com) – Iraqi troops killed on Sunday three Islamic State suicide bombers and destroyed 10 terrorist hotbeds in Salahuddin province.
“A joint force of Salahuddin Operations Command and al-Hashd al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilization Forces) carried out a preemptive military operation in the depth of Hamrin Mountains in Salahuddin province, killing three Islamic State suicide bombers,” Al-Madar News quoted the media center of al-Hashd al-Shaabi as saying in a press statement.
The troops “also destroyed 10 Islamic State hotbeds containing explosive belts, ammunition and foodstuffs,” the statement added.
Iraq declared the collapse of Islamic State’s territorial influence in November 2017 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 defeat in Iraq in late 2017, many IS remnants remain at large in the hideouts of the Arab country.