BAGHDAD, Aug. 7 (Xinhua) -- The Iraqi security forces on Saturday launched an operation to hunt down militants of the extremist Islamic State (IS) group in Iraq's eastern province of Diyala, a provincial police source said.
Based on intelligence reports, a joint force from the provincial police and Sunni tribal fighters launched the operation in areas north of the town of al-Muqdadiya, some 100 km northeast of the capital Baghdad, Nihad al-Mahdawi, head of Diyala police media office, told Xinhua.
The operation aimed to clear rural areas in the north of Maqdadiyah from IS militants and destroy their hideouts, al-Mahdawi said.
Separately, IS militants kidnapped in the morning two civilians and wounded three others at a fake checkpoint near the town of Shirqat, some 280 km north of Baghdad, Colonel Mohammed al-Bazi, from Salahudin provincial police, told Xinhua.
During the past months, IS militants have intensified their attacks on the Iraqi security forces in the province the militants previously controlled, leaving dozens dead and wounded.
The security situation in Iraq has been improving since Iraqi security forces fully defeated the IS militants across the country late in 2017. However, IS remnants have since melted in urban areas or deserts and rugged areas, carrying out frequent guerilla attacks against security forces and civilians. Enditem
