ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraqi air force on Wednesday hit alleged Islamic State (ISIS) hideouts in Kirkuk province as the country bolsters efforts to target suspected terrorist cells and members, the Security Media Cell said on Twitter.
F-16 jets launched an airstrike on two suspected ISIS hideouts in Kirkuk’s Qushqaya area, the media cell said in a tweet.
The cell noted that it will disclose the details of the operation later, as it is unclear whether it resulted in any deaths.
The operation resulted in the death of five ISIS suspects, including two leaders, state media reported Iraq's top military spokesperson Yehia Rasool as saying.
ISIS seized control of swathes of land in Iraq 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. ISIS remnants are particularly active in parts of northern Iraq that are disputed by Erbil and Baghdad, including in the provinces of Kirkuk, Diyala, and Salahaddin.
The Iraqi air force in recent months has ramped up efforts against ISIS, destroying multiple hideouts and killing tens of affiliates.
It targeted an “important den of ISIS” in Kirkuk, a few days after another airstrike on a suspected hideout of the terror group led to the death of seven ISIS suspects.
The terror group launched over 257 offensives, killing 387 and injuring 518 people, including Iraqi and Kurdish fighters over the past year.
Updated at 8:37, February 24
.jpg&w=3840&q=75)
