U.S.-led coalition warplane kills five Islamic State militants in Kirkuk

Kirkuk (IraqiNews.com) – Five Islamic State (IS) militants have been killed in a new airstrike by a U.S.-led international coalition warplane in southern Kirkuk province, a security source was quoted as saying.

“A jet fighter of the U.S.-led international coalition targeted a gathering of Islamic State militants in al-Shai area, 45 km south of Kirkuk, leaving five militants dead,” the Jordanian-based Al Arab Al Yawm newspaper quoted the source as saying.

The source gave no further details about the incident.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declared last December full liberation of Iraq from IS militants, however, some IS dormant cells regrouped in the rural areas and started to carry out attacks against the security forces and civilians.

Iraq’s war against the Islamic State has resulted in over five million internally displaced persons across Iraq and left more than 11 million in need of humanitarian assistance, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

Nearly a half of the internally-displaced people have been repatriated so far.

The surge in violence between armed groups and government forces has also left thousands dead, according to government and United Nations reports. In 2017 alone, violence left more than 3000 dead and more than 4000 wounded.