ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Islamic State group (ISIS) militants attacked the Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF, or Hashd al-Shaabi) in Salahaddin province late Wednesday, killing two fighters, the pro-Iran Shiite group said in a statement. Hashd said in the statement that ISIS attacked their forces in al-Fathah district of Salahaddin, killing two of its fighters and injuring four others “during confrontations.” “A force from the [Hashd] brigade carried out a security operation to pursue the terrorist organization's cells following its latest attack,” it added. ISIS seized control of swathes of land in Iraq in 2014. It was declared territorially defeated in 2017, but continues to carry out bombings, hit-and-run attacks, and abductions across several provinces. It is especially active in parts of northern Iraq that are disputed by Erbil and Baghdad, including in the provinces of Kirkuk, Diyala, and Salahaddin. The extremist group has increased its attacks against Iraqi Army, Hashd and Peshmerga recently - especially in the disputed areas. The increase in ISIS activities comes as the US-led coalition is formally shifting its combat role in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region to focus on military advising and training. In its propaganda magazine on Thursday, ISIS claimed to have conducted 9 attacks in Iraq from December 9 to December 15, killing and injuring 25 people.
