ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Several alleged Islamic State (ISIS) members were killed when an Iraqi airstrike targeted their location in southwestern Erbil province on Monday following a fresh operation conducted to eliminate remnants of the group. Iraqi warplanes launched an airstrike in the mountains of Makhmour in Erbil province on Monday, resulting in the deaths of six suspected ISIS members, Iraq's top military spokesperson Yehia Rasool said in a tweet. The Peshmerga and Iraqi army conducted a joint operation against ISIS hideouts in Mount Qarachogh on Sunday, an area synonymous with ISIS activity situated in the security vacuum between Erbil and Baghdad. The aforementioned operation led to the deaths of two ISIS members after caves and tunnels that the organization sheltered in were destroyed. Rasool said the strikes "came in conjunction with the heroes of the Peshmerga, and this operation is a continuation of the series of joint efforts undertaken by the Iraqi forces to combat the remains of terrorism." ISIS seized control of swathes of Iraqi land in 2014. The group was declared territorially defeated in 2017 but it continues to carry out bombings, hit-and-run attacks, and abductions across several provinces. The militants are particularly active in parts of northern Iraq that are disputed by the Kurdish and Iraqi governments, stretching across several provinces including Kirkuk, Salahaddin, and Diyala. Iraqi army and Peshmerga have formed joint brigades to combat ISIS in the disputed territories, but their work has been prevented from materializing due to government formation turmoil.
