ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq’s counter-terrorism service (CTS) on Monday announced the killing of six prominent Islamic State (ISIS) leaders in their latest operation against the group’s remnants in the country.
“The inspection and confrontation operation resulted in the killing of six prominent leaders of the terrorist gangs,” spokesperson to the counter-terrorism apparatus Sabah al-Numan told Iraqi state media, identifying the most prominent leader killed as Abu Maryam al-Qahtani, the group’s so-called general administrator of Salahaddin province.
Numan added that their teams have found a set of documents during their operations that revealed the “financing of terrorist gangs and the methods of communication used in the current period.”
The Iraqi army and the Kurdish Peshmerga forces on Thursday launched the fifth phase of an expansive operation dubbed Solid Will, targeting ISIS remnants in Diyala and Tuz Khurmatu.
Both forces last month launched the fourth phase of the operation near Makhmour town, targeting ISIS militants in Mount Qarachogh, an infamous region synonymous with ISIS activity.
Iraqi army and Peshmerga have formed joint brigades to fight ISIS in the disputed territories, but government formation turmoil has prevented their work from materializing.
Earlier this month, five Iraqi soldiers were killed in Diyala by the terror group.
ISIS controlled vast lands in Iraq in 2014, but the jihadists became fully devoid of territorial control in 2017. While the group lacks any territory, it continues to pose security risks through abductions, hit-and-run attacks, and bombings, especially in the disputed territories.
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