Iraqi troops and airstrikes punish ISIS in Diyala

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Airstrikes launched by the US-led coalition to defeat the Islamic State, or ISIS, hammered jihadist positions in Diyala province on Tuesday, killing nearly two dozen militants and destroying several encampments, a source with the Iraqi joint forces told Rudaw. 

“On Tuesday, coalition air raids on ISIS positions and military bases in Hamrin village near the city of Baquba, in Diyala province, killing 23 ISIS radicals and destroying some of the group's military bases," Ali Khalil, an officer with the Iraqi Federal Police, told the press on Wednesday.

Before the coalition warplanes arrived, Khalil said, Iraqi forces were engaged fierce fighting with ISIS and managed to drive the extremists from several areas. 

In early May, Iraqi forces managed to capture an ISIS base believed to be the jihadists' biggest in Diyala province, northeast of Baghdad.

The eastern province of Diyala has a majority Sunni population but is also home to Shiites, Kurds and other ethnic and religious groups.