Iraqi troops kill group of Islamic State militants, destroy two hideouts in Salahuddin

Salahuddin (Iraqinews.com) – Iraqi authorities said on Saturday that security forces killed a group of Islamic State militants during a military operation in Salahuddin province.

In a statement, a copy of which was obtained by Alforat news website Saturday, spokesman for the Iraqi Security Media Council Brig. Gen. Yehia Rasool said, “A force from Salahuddin Operations Command spotted a group of Islamic Stat terrorists on board two boats in Al-Shirqat district in Salahuddin.”

The troops immediately “opened fire at the two boats, killing all the terrorists on board,” the spokesman added.

The statement did not elaborate how many IS terrorists were exactly killed in the operation.

In another military operation, a security force managed to destroy two hotbeds of Islamic State in Tirkit island.

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.