Iraqi F-16 jets carried out “two airstrikes at 6:30 [am] on a detachment of three terrorists in Wadi al-Shay within the Kirkuk Operations Command sector,” the cell said in a statement.
“The strikes targeted hideouts, caves, and tunnels of these detachments in the area,” it added.
ISIS seized control of swathes of Iraqi territory during a brazen offensive in 2014 but it was declared territorially defeated in 2017 when its so-called caliphate in the country fell as Iraqi and Kurdish fighters, supported by a US-led international coalition, claimed back lands lost to the jihadists.
Despite its territorial defeat, the group has continued to pose a serious security threat to the country through hit-and-run attacks, bombings, and abductions in several provinces, particularly in areas disputed between the Iraqi government and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), which stretch across several provinces including Diyala, Salahaddin, and Kirkuk.
Iraq’s air force regularly pursues and targets ISIS hideouts across the country, particularly in the disputed areas.
To combat ISIS in these areas, the Iraqi government and the KRG’s Peshmerga ministry agreed in 2021 to form two joint brigades that will be under full control of Baghdad.
Despite the agreement, the formation of the brigades was delayed because of turmoil around forming the government after the 2021 election and lack of funding. There is also a historic lack of trust between the two forces. In October, a misunderstanding between them in the Makhmour area led to a deadly altercation.