The Wednesday ambush in southwest Kirkuk’s Riyadh district killed two ISIS suspects in the Zghitun Valley, an area infamous for ISIS activity but recently declared devoid of jihadist cells by the army.
“One of the terrorists was the so-called ‘governor of Riyadh,’ and the other the ‘soldier of Riyadh.’ The force carrying out the duty succeeded in seizing their weapons, equipment, technical materials, devices, and criminal evidence,” the army’s Security Media Cell said in a statement.
It labeled the targets as “important elements” of ISIS, adding that the operation involved thorough intelligence-gathering for four consecutive days before it was executed.
Zghitun Valley, located east of Hawija district – another former ISIS stronghold – was declared emptied of ISIS cells by the Iraqi army on June 10.
ISIS rose to power and seized swathes of Iraqi and Syrian land in a brazen offensive in 2014, declaring a so-called “caliphate.”
While the group was declared territorially defeated in Iraq and Syria in 2017 and 2019 respectively, it still continues to pose serious security risks through hit-and-run attacks, bombings, and abductions, especially across the vast expanses of the Syrian desert and several Iraqi provinces situated in a security vacuum between the federal government and the Kurdistan Region.
Kirkuk province in particular has been a hotspot for ISIS activity, lying in a security vacuum exploited by militants to launch attacks on both civilians and members of the security forces.
Despite the threats, Iraqi authorities stress that attacks by ISIS have largely simmered down.
Earlier this month, the US military said that an ISIS leader was arrested and two operatives killed in numerous partnered operations with Iraqi forces.
