U.S.-led coalition warplanes kill 14 Islamic State militants in Kirkuk

Kirkuk (Iraqinews.com) – Up to 14 members of Islamic State were killed Tuesday in a series of airstrikes on Kirkuk province by the U.S.-led international coalition warplanes, a security source was quoted as saying.

“Airstrikes launched by fighter jets of the U.S.-led international coalition have targeted several terrorist hotbeds of Islamic State in northwestern Kirkuk, leaving 14 militants dead,” Baghdad Post website quoted the source.

The source added that the airstrikes “were carried out in coordination with Iraqi intelligence agencies.”

Iraqi security forces, backed by paramilitary troops of al-Hashd al-Shaabi and Peshmerga fighters, had launched a military operation dubbed Martyrs’ Revenge to chase Islamic State militants at their hotbeds in Kirkuk, Diyala and Salahuddin provinces.

The Islamic State group appeared on the international scene in 2014 when it seized large swathes of territory in Iraq and Syria, declaring the establishment of an Islamic “caliphate” from Mosul city.

Later on, the group has become notorious for its brutality, including mass killings, abductions and beheadings, prompting the U.S. to lead an international coalition to destroy it.

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.