BAGHDAD, Feb. 16 (Xinhua) -- The Iraqi security forces on Wednesday killed three militants of the extremist Islamic State (IS) group in the provinces of Salahudin and Diyala, security sources said.
In Salahudin province north of Baghdad, the security forces, backed by the Iraqi air force, carried out an operation in Himreen mountain range, killing two IS militants and destroying three of their hideouts, the media office of the Iraqi Joint Operations Command said in a statement.
In the eastern province of Diyala, the Iraqi jet fighters bombed an IS hideout in the Wadi-Thlab area northeast of the provincial capital Baquba, destroying the hideout and killing an IS militant inside, Maj. Alaa al-Saadi from the provincial police told Xinhua.
Over the past few months, Iraqi security forces have carried out deadly attacks against IS militants to crackdown their intensified activities.
The security situation in Iraq has improved after Iraqi forces defeated the IS in 2017. Yet IS remnants have since melted into urban centers, deserts, and rugged areas, carrying out frequent guerilla attacks against security forces and civilians. ■
