Iraq strikes suspected ISIS hideout in Salahaddin
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq’s air force has targeted an Islamic State (ISIS) position in Salahaddin province, marking another strike in what seems to be an ongoing campaign by Baghdad against jihadist remnants in the country.
Iraqi F-16 fighter jets struck a “terrorist” position east of Salahaddin province “completely destroying it,” according to a statement by Baghdad’s Security Media Cell.
A Saturday statement by the Cell referred to an earlier airstrike on another ISIS position in Salahaddin province late last month. The latter reportedly killed at least three ISIS leaders, including the group’s so-called “Kirkuk governor,” and seven other militants.
In 2014, ISIS seized large swathes of territory in central and northern Iraq, as well as regions in neighboring Syria. The group declared a “caliphate” in the regions under its control with Iraq’s northern city of Mosul as its so-called capital.
After years of military operations, Baghdad in 2017 declared the defeat of ISIS and the fall of its proclaimed caliphate. However, the group’s dormant cells continue to threaten Iraq’s security, especially in disputed territories in the provinces of Diyala, Kirkuk, Nineveh, and Salahaddin. Iraq’s air force frequently launches strikes against what it says are ISIS bastions in those territories.
Iraqi F-16 fighter jets struck a “terrorist” position east of Salahaddin province “completely destroying it,” according to a statement by Baghdad’s Security Media Cell.
A Saturday statement by the Cell referred to an earlier airstrike on another ISIS position in Salahaddin province late last month. The latter reportedly killed at least three ISIS leaders, including the group’s so-called “Kirkuk governor,” and seven other militants.
In 2014, ISIS seized large swathes of territory in central and northern Iraq, as well as regions in neighboring Syria. The group declared a “caliphate” in the regions under its control with Iraq’s northern city of Mosul as its so-called capital.
After years of military operations, Baghdad in 2017 declared the defeat of ISIS and the fall of its proclaimed caliphate. However, the group’s dormant cells continue to threaten Iraq’s security, especially in disputed territories in the provinces of Diyala, Kirkuk, Nineveh, and Salahaddin. Iraq’s air force frequently launches strikes against what it says are ISIS bastions in those territories.