2 IS militants killed, 5 arrested in Iraq-Xinhua

2 IS militants killed, 5 arrested in Iraq

Source: Xinhua

Editor: huaxia

2022-07-06 04:03:15

BAGHDAD, July 5 (Xinhua) -- Two militants of Islamic State (IS) group were killed and five arrested on Tuesday in two military operations in Iraq, the Iraqi military said.

Based on intelligence reports, Iraqi forces ambushed two IS militants, believed to be local leaders of the extremist group, and shot them dead in a mountainous area in Iraq's northern province of Kirkuk, the media office of the Iraqi Joint Operations Command (JOC) said in a statement.

Meanwhile, Iraqi security forces arrested five IS militants in several Iraqi provinces, including a local IS leader in Baghdad, the spokesman of the commander-in-chief of the Iraqi forces Yahia Rasoul said in a separate statement.

Iraqi security forces have been fighting IS militants over the past months to crack down on their intensified activities.

The security situation in Iraq has been improving since the defeat of the IS in 2017. However, its remnants have since melted into urban centers, deserts, and rugged areas, carrying out frequent guerilla attacks against the security forces and civilians.